limited administers btec qualifications. -...

Pearson Education Limited is one of the UK's largest awarding organisations, offering academic and vocational qualifications and testing to schools, colleges, employers and other places of learning, both in the UK and internationally. Qualifications offered include GCSE, AS and A Level, NVQ and our BTEC suite of vocational qualifications, ranging from Entry Level to BTEC Higher National Diplomas. Pearson Education Limited administers BTEC qualifications.

Through initiatives such as onscreen marking and administration, Pearson is leading the way in using technology to modernise educational assessment, and to support teachers and learners.

References to third-party material made in this delivery guide are made in good faith. We do not endorse, approve or accept responsibility for the content of materials, which may be subject to change, or any opinions expressed therein. (Material may include textbooks, journals, magazines and other publications and websites.)

The right of Linda Bickel (Units: 5, 6, 7), Karen Glencross (Units: 1, 2, 3, 4) and Paul Bentley (Unit 8) to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Publications Code BF031237

All the material in this publication is copyright © Pearson Education Limited 2012

Welcome to your BTEC First 2012 delivery guide

This delivery guide is a companion to your BTEC First specifications. It contains a wealth of ideas for practical activities, realistic scenarios and independent learning, helping to bring the content of the units to life. The aim of this guide is to show how the content of the specification might work in practice and to inspire you to start thinking about different ways to deliver your course. The guidance has been put together by teachers who understand the challenges of finding new and engaging ways to deliver a BTEC programme, which means you can be sure the guidance is relevant and achievable.

Unit-by-unit guidance is given and includes suggestions on how to approach the learning aims and unit content, as well as providing ideas for interesting and varied activities. You will also find a list of carefully selected resources for each unit, including suggestions for books, websites and videos that you can either direct your learners to use or that you can use as a way to complement your delivery.

Guidance about the new features of the BTEC Firsts is also included, providing an explanation of how these work and what you will need to consider as you plan the course. You will also find comprehensive coverage of assessment, including useful advice about external assessment, as well as extensive guidance about how to plan, design and deliver your assignments. Information about the Quality Assurance process will help you understand the different roles and responsibilities of individuals within your centre, and how you can work closely with Edexcel to enable the successful running of your programme.

This delivery guide is intended to be read in conjunction with the qualification specification.

● The specification tells you what must be taught and gives guidance about how it should be assessed.

● This delivery guide gives suggestions about how the content could be delivered.

The suggestions given in this delivery guide link with the suggested assignment outlines in the specification but they are not compulsory; they are designed to get you started and to spark your imagination.

Remember that all assignments must go through internal verification before being delivered to learners.

When combining units for a BTEC First qualification, it is the centre’s responsibility to ensure that the qualification structure(s) in the specification are adhered to.

Contents

1 Introducing the new BTEC Firsts in Business 1

2 Key features of the BTEC Firsts explained 4 Core units 4 Employability skills within BTEC 4 Contextualised English and mathematics 7 Supporting learners who are unable to achieve their level 2 qualification 8

3 Assessment guidance 10 Assessment for the new BTEC Firsts 10 Quality assurance 19

Units 23 Unit 1: Enterprise in the Business World 25 Unit 2: Finance for Business 31 Unit 3: Promoting a Brand 35 Unit 4: Principles of Customer Service 39 Unit 5: Sales and Personal Selling 45 Unit 6: Introducing Retail Business 49 Unit 7: Providing Business Support 53 Unit 8: Recruitment, Selection and Employment 57 Unit 9: Principles of Marketing 61 Unit 10: Using Business Documentation 67 Unit 11: Building Successful Business Teams 73 Unit 12: Introducing Law and Consumer Rights 79 Unit 13: Financial Planning and Forecasting 85 Unit 14: Business Online 91 Unit 15: Public Sector Business 95 Unit 16: Enhancing the Customer Experience 101 Unit 17: Visual Merchandising in Retail Business 107

Annexe 113 Definitions of terms used in assessment criteria grids 113

INTRODUCTION

BF031237 – Delivery Guide –BTEC Firsts in Business – Issue 1 – November 2012 © Pearson Education Limited 2012

1

1 Introducing the new BTEC Firsts in Business

The BTEC Firsts in Business have been developed to provide learners with a stimulating and engaging introduction to the business world. These new qualifications will help learners to develop their knowledge of business theory, and allow them to use their creativity and entrepreneurism.

The BTEC philosophy of ‘learning through doing’ remains at the heart of these qualifications. Learners are given the opportunity to gain a broad understanding of the business sector as well as the knowledge and skills that underpin it.

Developing the qualification in response to change

The new suite of BTEC Firsts is now available on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). The NQF fully supports both academic and vocationally related progression pathways.

Professor Alison Wolf’s Review of Vocational Education was published in March 2011. The Government has since accepted her proposals in full and the Department for Education (DfE) has produced a list of seven characteristics that all high-value vocational qualifications for learners aged 14+ should demonstrate. Specifically, they should:

1. be at least as big as a GCSE in terms of guided learning hours (GLH), i.e. 120 GLH

2. contain an element of external assessment, e.g. an externally set and marked test taken under specific conditions

3. contain some synoptic assessment so that learners appreciate the breadth of their course and the links between different elements, rather than just taking units in isolation from each other

4. be graded, e.g. Pass, Merit, Distinction and Distinction*

5. contain content appropriate for learners aged 14+

6. enable progression to further study in the same subject at the next level, and also support progression to broader study at the next level

7. have a proven track record, measured by its uptake of at least 100 learners in five centres.

As part of the development of the new BTEC Firsts in Business, we have taken into account many consultations with schools, further education and higher education institutions, and employers. You joined us in our biggest ever market research and consultation process to ensure that the new BTEC Firsts demonstrate best practice.

Core units The Edexcel BTEC Level 1/level 2 First Award, Certificate and Extended Certificate in Business comprise two core units: Unit 1: Enterprise in the Business World, which is internally assessed, and the externally assessed Unit 2: Finance for Business.

● Unit 1: Enterprise in the Business World, which allows you to teach the fundamentals of business in a flexible and engaging way. The unit introduces the learner to language and terminology used in business, and explores what businesses do, how they operate and the factors that can influence their success. Learners will be able to use this knowledge to plan their own realistic business start-up idea. This is a chance for learners to demonstrate their entrepreneurial

INTRODUCTION


2

and creative skills while building up a body of knowledge that will support them through the rest of their BTEC qualification. This unit can be delivered as a standalone unit, or it can be incorporated throughout the learning across the qualification.

● Unit 2: Finance for Business is an introductory finance unit that explores the essential financial principles underpinning any successful business. Learners will explore how businesses plan for success and the techniques that assist this process, such as break-even analysis and cash flow forecasts. Learners will understand how to measure revenue, gross profit and net profit and the importance of these to a business. The final part of the unit allows learners to analyse key financial statements and understand their importance to the successful running of a business. Learners are externally assessed through an onscreen test, which will include a variety of question formats including: multiple choice, drag and drop and extended writing. All levels of learner will be able to access the test and it will also allow higher level learners to show strength and breadth in their answers.

Mandatory unit

The Edexcel BTEC Level 1/Level 2 First Certificate and Extended Certificate in Business comprise the two core units listed above and an externally assessed mandatory unit, Unit 9: Principles of Marketing.

● Unit 9: Principles of Marketing allows learners to explore the role of marketing within business, finding out how and why businesses participate in marketing activity. Learners will look at the different types of target markets and how marketing activity differs across these areas. They will also look at how market research helps a business understand the needs of their market, as well as the marketing mix and how this should be adapted for different markets. Learners will be externally assessed through a paper-based test. The test will include a variety of questions including some extended writing. The first half of the paper will examine general marketing knowledge, with the second half being a series of questions based around a short, given scenario.

Optional specialist units

Centres have the flexibility to select optional specialist units that reflect the breadth of opportunity within the sector and enable further exploration of specific areas of interest. In the Award, all optional specialist units are internally assessed and are 30 GLH. The following units are available:

● Unit 3: Promoting a Brand

● Unit 4: Principles of Customer Service

● Unit 5: Sales and Personal Selling

● Unit 6: Introducing Retail Business

● Unit 7: Providing Business Support

● Unit 8: Recruitment, Selection and Employment

In the Certificate, the following optional specialist units, which are all internally assessed, are available:

● Unit 10: Using Business Documentation

● Unit 11: Building Successful Business Teams

● Unit 12: Introducing Law and Consumer Rights

● Unit 13: Financial Planning and Forecasting

INTRODUCTION


3

● Unit 14: Business Online

● Unit 15: Public Sector Business

● Additionally within the Extended Certificate two additional optional specialist units, which are both internally assesses, are available:

● Unit 16: Enhancing the Customer Experience*

● Unit 17: Visual Merchandising in Retail Business

*Unit 4: Principles of Customer Service is a compulsory prerequisite of Unit 16: Enhancing the Customer Experience.

Progression opportunities

The Edexcel BTEC Level 1/Level 2 First Award, Certificate and Extended Certificate in Business provide the skills, knowledge and understanding for level 2 learners to progress to:

● other level 2 vocational qualifications

● level 3 vocational qualifications, such as BTEC Nationals, specifically the Edexcel BTEC Level 3 in Business (QCF)

● competency-based qualifications such as the Edexcel BTEC NVQ Level 2 in either Business Administration or Team Leading, or the Edexcel BTEC NVQ Level 3 in either Business Administration or Management, or their corresponding apprenticeships

● related academic qualifications, such as GCE in Business or Applied GCE in Business

● employment within the business industry, for example entry level job roles within the sector.

Learners who achieve the qualification at level 1 may progress to related level 2 vocational or academic qualifications, such as BTECs or GCSEs. Alternatively, learners may also consider progression to competency-based qualifications such as the Edexcel BTEC NVQ Level 2 in either Business Administration or Team Leading.

KEY FEATURES


4

2 Key features of the BTEC Firsts explained

We are always working to ensure our qualifications are relevant and that they support opportunities and progression for young people. We have updated the current BTECs to meet the needs of today’s learners, teachers, educators, employers and universities, and also to reflect the policy decisions being introduced following The Wolf Report (March 2011) on vocational education. Our new BTECs contain a number of new features and it is important that you understand these and how they relate to your delivery of the course.

Core units Each subject in the new suite of BTEC First qualifications contains core units totalling 60 guided learning hours (GLH). These units have been developed in consultation with employers and educators in order to cover the essential knowledge and applied skills that are a foundation of the sector, and the knowledge and skills that will underpin learning of the optional units.

There are usually two contrasting types of core unit. One type focuses on essential knowledge and the other focuses on applying essential vocational skills. In the Edexcel BTEC First Level 1/Level 2 Award, Certificate and Extended Certificate in Business, the core units are:

● Unit 1: Enterprise in the Business World

● Unit 2: Finance for Business, which is externally assessed using an onscreen test.

● External assessment provides independent confirmation that the standards are being met but, as it represents a maximum of 25 per cent of the overall assessment, does not distort the general BTEC approach, which continues to focus on predominantly portfolio-based applied learning.

The core units are an important part of the qualification and learners must gain enough marks to pass the core overall. However, it is possible to gain an unclassified grade in the externally assessed unit and still pass the core if the learner achieves a high enough mark in the internal assessment.

Employability skills within BTEC Helping learners to progress into employment has always been a cornerstone of BTEC qualifications. Equipping learners with the skills they will use in the workplace is at the very heart of BTEC and remains an important driver in determining the content of each qualification. When developing our qualifications we work closely with employers to understand the skills they are looking for in new entrants to their industries. The vast majority of employers not only require learners to have certain technical skills, knowledge and understanding to work in a particular sector, but they are also looking for what is termed employability skills. These are the skills which underpin the different tasks and duties which a person can be expected to undertake in their role and which are applicable across sectors.

Unlike technical skills, which may become outdated over time, employability skills enable learners to adapt to the ever-changing roles needed to survive in the global economy.

KEY FEATURES


5

The CBI definition of employability skills is based on a positive attitude (readiness to take part, openness to new ideas and activities, desire to achieve) which underpins seven characteristics.

1. Self-management: readiness to accept responsibility, flexibility, time management, readiness to improve own performance.

2. Teamworking: respecting others, co-operating, negotiating/persuading, contributing to discussions.

3. Business and customer awareness: basic understanding of the key drivers for business success and the need to provide customer satisfaction.

4. Problem-solving: analysing facts and circumstances and applying creative thinking to develop appropriate solutions.

5. Communication and literacy: application of literacy, ability to produce clear, structured written work and oral literacy, including listening and questioning.

6. Application of numeracy: manipulation of numbers, general mathematical awareness and its application in practical contexts.

7. Application of information technology: basic IT skills, including familiarity with word-processing, spreadsheets, file management and use of internet search engines.

In a recent CBI Education and Skills Survey, Learning to grow: What employers need from education and skills 2012 it was noted that employers believe schools and colleges should be prioritising the development of employability skills (71per cent). They also want to see more to be done to develop literacy (50 per cent), numeracy (45 per cent) and technology skills (30 per cent).

How employability skills are promoted and developed in BTEC courses

All internally assessed units in BTEC are based on set assignments which require learners to produce evidence of learning applied to a work-related scenario. Within the scenario learners will typically be put into a junior role in the sector, asked to do some research or preparation and then provide evidence in the form of a presentation, information leaflet, performance or artefact, depending on the assignment. Suggestions for high-quality assignments are provided in the specification and in the authorised assignment briefs. For example in Unit 10: Using Business Documentation the following scenario is given:

Assignment – Which Document?

You are working for a consultancy business and have been asked by your manager to advise an entrepreneur who is setting up a new business on the purposes and types of written business communications.

To do this, you will need to examine the purpose of four different documents used by another business to give as an example for the entrepreneur. You will need to consider how the business context influences the format of document used, and the factors to consider when planning and selecting appropriate business documents in four different business contexts to meet the needs of different audiences.

To achieve the Merit and Distinction criteria, you will need to examine further the need for confidentiality and audit requirements when producing business documents.

As assessment evidence learners are asked to design a presentation, leaflet, brochure, report.

Many of the assignments are group assignments and so involve teamwork. Problem-solving is developed through the research and/or practice part of the assignment. All assignments require self-management in that it is the responsibility

KEY FEATURES


6

of the learners to complete the assignments and ensure they are submitted to the set deadline.

BTECs are vocational qualifications. This means that learners are preparing to work in a particular sector and so must have a good business and customer awareness understanding of how the sector works, what makes it ‘tick’ and the business and/or customer drivers for the sector. For example in Business or Information and Creative Technology the ‘customer’ is the person or organisation that buys or uses the products or services, so in order to make good products the learner has to understand customer needs primarily by doing research or surveys. In a sector like Health and Social Care or Early Years Care the customer is the client or a parent; again, the learner will need to learn by doing practical work and undertaking assignments that help develop their understanding and respect of clients’ needs and wishes.

In most BTEC specifications there is a unit that introduces the industry to learners. In Business this is Unit 1: Enterprise in the Business World, which is a core unit that underpins the other units in the qualification. Through this unit learners will gain an understanding of how the business world works.

In some sectors there are specific units on customer awareness: for example, in Business Unit 4: Principles of Customer Service and Unit 9: Principles of Marketing.

Knowledge and skills signposting for English and mathematics

The mastery of the essential skills of communication and numeracy are at the heart of a young person’s ability to progress, as identified in the Wolf Report. In BTECs these skills are woven throughout and tackled in two specific ways.

1 Embedded mathematics and English throughout the units, mapped to GCSE. The opportunity to practise these essential skills in naturally occurring and meaningful contexts, are provided throughout units where appropriate to the sector. Within Annexes B and C of the specification a table is provided which shows where an assessment criterion in a BTEC First unit can provide an opportunity to practise content from the GCSE English or Mathematics subject criteria.

2 Sector-specific mathematics and English units where appropriate. For some sectors there are units specifically devoted to developing mathematical and communication skills in context, for example, Mathematics for Engineering or Effective Communication in Health and Social Care.

Application of information and creative technology (I&CT)

Throughout the course, learners are encouraged to apply I&CT by producing their assignment work to the highest standard, with forward-looking use of IT at the heart of their work: whether it be using the internet to do research, producing spreadsheets of evidence, or using sophisticated packages to record results aurally or visually. The assessment guidance for every unit provides suggestions for how evidence can be presented, and use of electronic portfolios is recommended, where relevant.

In addition, the new external assessments have looked at the innovative use of IT, for example, through the introduction of onscreen testing.

Personal, learning and thinking skills

In addition to those qualities outlined by the CBI the qualifications were also developed with personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTs) in mind. The PLTs map closely to the CBI definition of employability skills in that they develop:

● independent enquirers

● creative thinkers

● reflective learners

KEY FEATURES


7

● teamworkers

● self-managers

● effective participants.

A mapping grid showing coverage of these skills in each unit appears in Annexe of the specifications.

Contextualised English and mathematics The new BTEC First qualifications have been designed to help learners to develop their essential skills in English and mathematics.

It is recognised that good literacy and numeracy skills are highly valued by employers and by wider society and that achievement of English and mathematics at GCSE level is key to progression through the education system and into employment. The current Government has refocused attention on this need with a number of education policy announcements, and development of English and mathematics was a key recommendation in The Wolf Report.

Research has shown that for many learners the most effective way of developing their mathematical skills and of improving their functional skills in English is to learn them within the context of a specific area of vocational interest. Therefore, in the new suite of BTEC Firsts we have provided opportunities for contextualised maths and English so that learners can practise these essential skills in a meaningful way within naturally occurring contexts.

GCSEs in mathematics and English are the current benchmark of achievement, so we have signposted the assessment criteria of the BTEC Firsts to content from these GCSE qualifications, specifically to the more functional parts of their content. This signposting, which is indicated by a * sign for maths and a # sign for English, shows where learners should be able to practise and develop their skills. These instances occur naturally within the BTEC Firsts, for example when communicating or compiling reports, but can be emphasised and drawn out during teaching and learning. More detail on how this can be done is given on a unit-by-unit basis in the qualification specification.

Where signposting does occur in the unit specification, it indicates that English and mathematics knowledge and skills are a constituent part of the assessment requirements of the units. This does not mean that the BTEC assessment criteria cover the whole of the GCSE or Key Stage 4 requirements but that learners can practice specific areas of English and mathematics. You may want to highlight this opportunity to learners during delivery.

Annexes B and C in the specification show the exact relationship between the BTEC assessment criteria and the GCSE subject content. The mathematics content listed is a consolidation of the full requirements in GCSE Mathematics. Note that GCSE English and GCSE Mathematics already cover functional skills.

The following example demonstrates when learners will be able to develop their English skills within the context of a specific vocational area.

● Unit 8: Recruitment, Selection and Employment – 1B.3, 2B.P3, 2B.M2 – where learners are producing an appropriate and detailed job description and person specification for a specific job, they will express ideas and information clearly, precisely, accurately and appropriately, understand the conventions of written language, and choose and adapt style and language to forms (English 2, 4, 15).

KEY FEATURES


8

Delivery tips: examples of good practice

There are a number of different ways that centres can effectively manage the delivery of units to strengthen the provision of English and mathematics. Here are two examples.

Collaboration between the vocational teacher and mathematics/English teachers

● In this example the actual mathematics and English concepts are taught by subject teachers but they use contextualised examples from the vocational sector to make the learning meaningful. The learners are in timetabled slots where they attend mathematics and English lessons.

● This approach works well in larger centres where there are many learners taking the same vocational route. It works less well when there is a range of vocational sectors in the same mathematics/English class, although it can still be effective if the respective teachers work closely together to plan the learning programme.

Mathematics and English are taught in specific lessons by the vocational teacher

● In this example the learners have timetabled slots, as part of their vocational contact time, in which their vocational teachers focus on presenting and practising mathematics and English concepts. This model is particularly motivating for learners because they see the direct link between skills and application, but it relies on the vocational teachers being comfortable with teaching mathematics and English concepts and theories.

Whichever model is chosen, we recommend that timetables include specific slots to focus on the teaching of mathematics and English in the context of the vocational course.

Supporting learners who are unable to achieve their level 2 qualification The new suite of BTEC Firsts is for learners aiming to achieve a level 2 qualification. Most will achieve this, but some will not. These learners may have struggled to provide sufficient evidence in their assignments or they may have failed their external assessment.

The new BTEC First qualifications give you the opportunity to assess your learners at level 1 if they are not able to reach level 2 standards, recognising their learning and achievements.

All the assessments you create must be written against the level 2 criteria and be reliable and fit for purpose. You should not create a separate level 1 assignment. If a learner does not provide sufficient evidence to meet the level 2 criteria, only then should you assess their work against the level 1 criteria. The grade given will be Unclassified if the learner does not meet the level 1 criteria.

KEY FEATURES


9

An example of a learner being assessed against a level 1 criterion

Below is an example of an assessment grid, taken from Unit 5: Sales and Personal Selling. Each assessment grid includes level 1 assessment criteria.

Level 1 Level 2 Pass Level 2 Merit Level 2 Distinction

Learning aim A: Explore the role of sales staff

1A.1 Identify the work of one historical and one contemporary art and design practitioner.

2A.P1 Describe, using examples, four functions of sales staff in a selected business..

2A.M1 Compare the functions of the sales staff and the different sales skills used in two selected businesses.

2A.D1 Assess the effectiveness of sales skills and knowledge used by sales staff in two selected businesses.

In the scenario below learners are given the following assignment:

Assignment title: New Starter Induction

Scenario: You are working in a department store as a sales advisor. You have been given the task of assisting your manager to prepare training materials for new sales staff. To do this, you will need to investigate how other sales staff in the store use their skills and knowledge to sell products to customers. You will then use your research to create training materials for new staff to learn about the role and function of sales staff in the business, and which offer guidance on how to sell products effectively to customers.

Assessment evidence: Induction pack.

To achieve a level 2 pass learners must use examples to describe four functions of sales staff. In the scenario below, the learner has been given the same assignment as everyone else in the group; however, they are clearly not working at a level 2.d.

Jasmine was unsure what type of business to choose and after a lot of discussion with her teacher she selected a local retail store to investigate. Jasmine has worked in a small group researching how sales staff make sales in different businesses in the high street. Her teacher has spent time with her explaining what is meant by the sales function and the importance of the sales role. Jasmine has gathered some information relating to the selling role and dealing with routine enquiries, but this is not supported with any relevant examples. The teacher recognises that Jasmine will not be able to describe four functions of sales staff using suitable examples. [Jasmine has provided sufficient evidence for 1A.1 but not for 2A.P1.]

Learners who achieve at level 1 can consider the following progression routes.

● Use the skills, knowledge and experience they have gained to retake their level 2 qualification.

● Choose to study a different subject at level 2.

● Work towards an Apprenticeship at level 2.

ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE


10

3 Assessment guidance

Assessment for the new BTEC Firsts BTEC assessment has always been about:

● ensuring that learners are assessed for their skills as well as their knowledge

● ensuring that learners are given the chance to show what they have learned in vocational and applied contexts

● allowing learners to be assessed when they are ready and when a centre is able to fully support them

● providing learning through doing, opportunities for formative assessment and opportunities to extend performance by learning from assessment feedback.

While updating the BTEC Firsts, we have not changed these fundamentals – BTEC assessment will remain a positive statement of achievement.

The introduction of external assessment will reinforce learner engagement, giving them clear goals and targets in a way that helps them to understand the challenges of working life.

Experienced BTEC teachers should think about whether or not they need to change their delivery pattern to make sure they can provide access to external assessment at the best time. At the same time, there are some important developments in internal assessment that you should also be aware of as you plan your assessment for the year.

External assessment

After careful discussion with centres and other stakeholders, we have tailored the type of external assessment to meet the needs of the sector. All the assessments will be distinctively vocational, enabling learners to apply their learning in vocational or applied contexts.

For your sector you need to check:

● which unit(s) are to be externally tested

● the assessment method

● the availability of assessment for the first time

● the availability of retake opportunities (allowing for results)

● the delivery pattern we are recommending for these units and for other units as given in the specification.

Remember that you have plenty of time to prepare for assessments because you will be delivering over a one- or two-year period. For some sectors, completion of the externally assessed unit at or very near the end of the programme will be the recommended pattern. In others, it may be suggested that learners take the assessment earlier in the programme, but you should always make sure that learners are fully prepared.

The externally assessed unit will often be one that provides a core of knowledge that will be enhanced, developed and applied through other units. Learners’ depth of understanding of the content of externally assessed units is likely to be enhanced by applying knowledge through other units. Therefore, when you are planning and delivering your units, think about how you can bring out examples that would be useful illustrations of issues covered in the external unit(s).

ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE


11

Each specification has details about when assessment is available. To gain access to the assessments, learners have to be registered for a programme – the arrangements for this will be the same as for all BTECs. Please refer to the Information Manual on the website.

We will do everything we can to make external assessments relevant, engaging and suited to learner needs so that they support the overall development of the learner rather than being a hurdle or distraction. You should not enter learners for external assessment to check how they are doing or to give them practice – we provide sample materials for use in preparation.

The table below shows the type of external assessment and assessment availability for this qualification.

This assessment forms part of the core knowledge of the programme and are likely to be delivered towards the start of the programme but may be complemented by study in the other core unit(s). The learner’s overall readiness to undertake external assessment should be considered before entering for the assessment.

Unit 2: Finance for Business

Type of external assessment

This unit is externally assessed using an onscreen test. Edexcel sets and marks the test. The assessment must be taken by the learner under examination conditions.

Length of assessment

The external assessment will be 1 hour.

No. of marks 50

Assessment availability

On demand

First assessment availability

November 2013

Unit 9: Principles of Marketing

Type of external assessment

This unit is externally assessed using a paper-based exam. Edexcel sets and marks the exam. The assessment must be taken by the learner under examination conditions.

Length of assessment

The external assessment will be 1 hour, 30 minutes.

No. of marks 50

Assessment availability

January and June

First assessment availability

January 2014

ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE


12

Assessment and grading for internally assessed units

Internal assessment remains the main assessment method for BTEC qualifications because we believe that assignments set and marked within the centre provide the most relevant vocational learning experience for your learners.

You should guide both the teaching and the learning to ensure that learners are assessed validly and reliably in a way that is relevant for a vocational qualification. Your teaching of the knowledge, skills and vocational applications will underpin a learner being able to demonstrate achievement through assessed assignments. An assessed assignment must have a clear structure and timescale, and encourage the learner to show relevant evidence. You can then make a qualitative judgement on the evidence using the assessment criteria.

For those who are used to teaching BTEC not much has changed, but we are putting more emphasis on some requirements and helping to build good practice.

● You should use the new presentation of units, where learning aims are placed with associated assessment criteria, to provide building blocks for assessment – these are clear and simple to use and we recommend that you work through them with your learners.

● Your assessment plan for units and for the programme must be clear at the outset of the programme and signed off by the Lead Internal Verifier.

● Your Lead Internal Verifier must authorise your assignments. If you don’t have a Lead Internal Verifier who has been through standardisation, you should use support from us to ensure that your assignments are fully fit for purpose. You can use the endorsed assignments or you can access the assignment checking service through our website.

● You need to be explicit about the timescales and the evidence for assignments – there is nothing new about this but we will be expecting centres to follow best practice and to be very clear for their learners.

● You need to set out expectations through tasks and evidence – remember that the criteria are used to judge evidence and are not tasks in their own right.

● You need to be clear with your learner about the type of assessment – formative assessment takes place during the assignment and after the interim submission date, whereas summative assessment takes place after the final submission. A learner may be given one opportunity to retake a completed assessment after a summative grade has been given. You should also highlight what each of the dates on an assignment means.

● You should ensure that all work has been produced authentically and that you have checks in place to ensure that learners are submitting their own work.

How assignments are used

Assignments are used to assess learner achievement. You may also use assignments as a tool for learning, particularly where practical demonstration or application is involved. You should work with the other people in your programme team to design a plan of activity for the year, or the programme as a whole so that assignments have a clear schedule for the start, the finish and for internal verification.

A key question to ask is, ‘How many assignments do I need?’ Your assessed assignments should cover a learning aim within a unit. You may choose to set an assignment for a whole unit or even bring units together for assessment. Remember that this means your assessed assignments – of course you may set small activities before assessed assignments to provide learning and build skills. These preparatory

ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE


13

activities may often use group work and research as a preparation for undertaking the assessment itself.

In making a decision about how many assignments to use, you can think about what resources you have in your centre, what is available in the locality, how you could use links with local employers, and what opportunities there are for relating assessment to realistic vocational themes.

Top tips

● If a unit builds up – for example by ‘plan’ and then ‘do’ and then ‘review’ – then one large assignment may work best.

● If a unit requires several forms of evidence then several assignments may be best.

● It is good to emphasise the links between units but it is harder to manage assessment across units – if you feel this is a good approach then be clear on how you will reach one decision for a unit.

You need to think about how the evidence that the learner will produce can be verified and about how you will know that what each learner has done is authentic. You can only accept for assessment learner work that you know has been produced in a way that demonstrates the learner’s own achievement.

Assignment ‘warm-up’ – active teaching and learning

Your learners will do their best if they are motivated through engaging and realistic activities. All units involve ‘teaching the basics’ but learners need to get involved in order to understand where what they are learning fits in.

You can use your resources and your imagination to really bring learning alive. You can encourage learners to try things out in groups, role plays, presentations and practical demonstrations. You can use visits and talks for research – remember you will need to structure what you do so that learners get the information they need by providing a question sheet for them to use during a talk or visit, for example.

You can encourage learners to ‘get their hands dirty’ by trying something out. You can build up their skills so that they will be able to show them off confidently in the assessed assignment.

You can use this ‘warm-up’ time to emphasise practical links between units, so that when learners are carrying out tasks they appreciate that they are often simultaneously drawing on skills/understanding from different units. It is difficult to set up assessed assignments that span multiple units, but it is important that learners appreciate the holistic way that their learning prepares them for further study or employment.

Introducing the assignment

Your teaching and learning phase is going to lead directly into the assessed assignment. You may be setting this up in a very specific way – such as everyone completing a practical activity in a timed slot – or this may be independent work spread over a number of weeks.

It is important to remind learners preparing work for assessment that they have to produce it themselves and that they have to meet the deadlines you give them. You need to give them feedback on their progress at defined points – this helps you to know that what they are doing is authentic, and helps them to know how they can extend their evidence.

ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE


14

Remember that you should be guiding learners so that they know their work must be their own. Look at each unit carefully for how the evidence generated will be judged using the assessment criteria, and what degree of input you can make.

Evidence for assignments

You can use different types of evidence for assignments. A description does not have to be written and a presentation could be given in a number of styles – for example PowerPoint®, verbal or a digital recording. You need to think about what is fit for purpose. So, if learners need to explain a plan, why not have them present it to an audience with a question and answer session?

You should check that the type of evidence you are planning is feasible – for example, if you ask learners to ‘write a memo’, the coverage of 1 or 2 sides of A4 in a mainly written format must be capable of generating sufficient evidence. Remember that whatever evidence your learners produce must be capable of being verified as well as assessed. So, if they are actually producing a model, a performance, a meal, a coaching session, a demonstration etc you need to think about how it will be recorded or observed so that it can be checked during verification.

Learning aims and assessment criteria

A learning aim sets out what you should be covering in order to prepare the learners for assessment. It may define knowledge, understanding, skills and contexts and the wording of the aim will suggest appropriate learning experiences. You may set an assessed assignment on more than one learning aim but you should not normally split a learning aim over assignments. The evidence produced in the assignment is judged using the assessment criteria, so you must make sure that what is produced will match those criteria.

What about the final grade for a unit?

The final grade for a unit is at level 2 (Distinction, Merit or Pass), level 1 or Unclassified. The assessment criteria are detailed in each unit so that you can clearly see what is required. You need to be aware that a unit grade can only be given once all the activities and assignments for that unit are complete. In giving assessment decisions to learners, you need to be clear about when you are giving a formal decision and how this relates to the assessment for the unit as a whole.

If you choose to include a learning aim in more than one assignment, you should be very clear with learners how a judgement will be reached through looking at the evidence across the assignments. For example, the learner may be being asked to show the same skills in two different contexts. If so, they need to know if their performance in either is sufficient for assessment, or if they must perform to the same standard in both.

Keeping clear assessment records

You can only use assignments as assessment instruments effectively if you work closely with other members of the assessment team and keep accurate records of what you are doing. Your records help you and the team to plan, review, monitor and support learners and ensure that assessment is authentic and accurate.

The Lead Internal Verifier has a very important role in ensuring that each teacher, assessor and internal verifier on the programme understands the standards and the processes for keeping assessment documents.

ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE


15

Your records are there to help you get it right for your learners. The main documents that you use, which can be used electronically, are:

● an assessment and verification plan for the programme, showing when each assignment starts and finishes, when it is verified, and which unit(s) or learning aims it covers

● an assignment brief template ensuring that all the key requirements of an assignment are covered

● a record of internal verification for the assignment brief

● a record that the learner completes when submitting an assignment, which should include the date and a declaration of authenticity

● a record of internal verification for an individual sample of learner work

● a record of progress for each learner showing the assignments that have been completed and the assessment decisions given.

Giving interim feedback

Assessed assignments are used both as part of the learning and development process and as a formal assessment. You need to give two clear deadlines for an assignment: one for when interim feedback will be given; and one for when a final (summative) decision will be given.

Interim feedback should indicate how a learner is performing up to that point and give a clear indication of how the learner can improve. Take care when providing feedback or support that you are not compromising what the learner can achieve, because the criteria may require them to show independent selection or demonstration. The interim feedback point is the final chance for the learner to be given direction.

Between the interim feedback and the final provision of evidence, the learner should work independently.

Giving summative grades

At the end of an assignment you will need to reach a decision on assessment. If an assignment covers a whole unit then this will be a final summative grade; if it covers part of a unit then it will be a component of a final summative grade. In either case it counts as a summative decision and should be internally verified and finalised.

Your decisions must be checked according to the plan signed off by the Lead Internal Verifier. For each assignment, a sample of learner work must be reassessed fully by the Lead Internal Verifier or another person acting as an Internal Verifier who has been directed by the Lead Internal Verifier. Once your decisions have been checked you can give these to the learners as ‘final’. Remember that you will then be able to accept only one further attempt from the learner to provide further or better evidence for the learning aim(s) covered in that assignment.

You can only award higher grades if a learner has demonstrated the requirements of lower grades. This does not mean that the criteria represent different tasks or stages – you should be able to apply the criteria to the same evidence if the assignment is structured carefully.

A summative unit grade is awarded after all opportunities for achievement are given. A learner must achieve all the assessment criteria for that grade. Therefore:

● to achieve a Level 2 Distinction a learner must have satisfied all the Distinction criteria in a way that encompasses the Level 2 Pass, Merit and Distinction criteria, providing evidence of performance of outstanding depth, quality or application

ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE


16

● to achieve a Level 2 Merit a learner must have satisfied all the Merit criteria in a way that encompasses all the Level 2 Pass and Merit criteria, providing performance of enhanced depth or quality

● to achieve a Level 2 Pass a learner must have satisfied all the Level 2 Pass criteria, showing breadth of coverage of the required unit content and having relevant knowledge, understanding and skills

● a learner can be awarded a Level 1 if the level 1 criteria are fully met. The award of Level 1 is not achieved through a failure to meet the Level 2 Pass criteria.

A learner who does not achieve all the assessment criteria at level 1 has not passed the unit and should be given a grade of U (Unclassified).

A learner must achieve all the defined learning aims to pass the internally assessed units. There is no compensation within the unit.

Improving performance

Your assignments should provide opportunities for learners to achieve at the highest level and should promote stretch and challenge. Of course, not all learners will finally achieve a Distinction or a Merit, but it is important that they are provided with the opportunity to do so.

Where possible you should be looking to structure assignments so that learners can produce evidence that can be used across the grade levels – don’t assume that learners have to ‘get pass out of the way first’. To ‘aim high’ your learners should be well prepared before they start the assignment and be encouraged to attempt to reach the highest standards.

Assignment design

Your assignments are a tool for encouraging learners to provide evidence for you to make assessment judgements. Good assignments are interesting and motivate learners well.

The components of an assignment are:

● scope – outlines which unit(s) or learning aims are being covered and which criteria are being addressed

● a scenario – provides a setting and rationale for the assessment

● tasks – set out what a learner needs to do to provide the evidence

● evidence requirements – set out exactly what the learner is expected to produce and how the assessment will take place.

● a timescale – sets out start and hand-in dates and interim points for review.

Assignment briefs

Your assignments must be given to a learner formally as an assignment brief so that the learner knows they are being assessed and what is required of them.

The assignment brief includes:

● the qualification

● the title and number of the unit(s)

● an assignment title and number (if more than one per unit)

● the learning aims (if not a whole unit)

● the assessment criteria

ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE


17

● the evidence requirements

● the start date

● the submission deadline

● any key dates, including a date for interim assessment.

You should include a record that it has been given to the learner, normally by inserting the learner’s name into a copy of the assignment brief, but this could be recorded electronically.

Your learners should be provided with a form or other record for declaring that their work is their own and for confirming the date of submission.

Using an authorised assignment brief

We are preparing a bank of endorsed assignments briefs that you will be able to access at www.btec.co.uk/authorisedassignments. It will include at least one endorsed assignment brief for every internally assessed unit. For mandatory units, there will be enough endorsed assignment briefs to cover all assessment criteria.

We ask you to verify every assignment every year, regardless of whether it is your own or one sourced from elsewhere. Once your assignment is verified, you can put it in your timetable and check that you have planned delivery of the appropriate content. This can be as simple as making sure you have planned an event, visit or performance, as suggested.

● The Lead Internal Verifier should fit these assignments into the overall plan and know when they will be assessed.

● You may want to adjust the assignment to make it fit your learners’ needs and your centre’s resources.

● You should think about exactly how the evidence is going to be produced and whether or not your learners need guiding to relevant activities that they have already completed.

● You may need to plan for practical activities to be carried out and recorded.

It is important that you are as familiar with the endorsed assignment brief as you would be if you had created it yourself. Understanding the assignment will ensure that you plan activities that properly reflect the scenario given in the assignment, and that you get no nasty ‘surprises’ when the learners’ evidence is submitted.

It is important that you are as familiar with the authorised assignment brief as you would be if you had created the assignment yourself. Understanding the assignment will ensure that you plan activities that properly reflect the scenario given in the assignment and that you are prepared for the evidence learners submit.

The scenario

The assignment should be set in a vocational context that helps your learners to show what they have learned in a relevant way. This can often be achieved by asking learners to imagine they are in an appropriate job setting with a job role and job tasks. It could involve providing them with a brief of an activity that would be of value to a local employer, or without using a job context directly. It could draw on a real case study in order to allow application and analysis. You can draw on understanding of your sector to develop appropriate assessment contexts.

Evidence

ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE


18

You can choose suitable forms of evidence – and it is possible to use a wide range; from reports to presentations, from performances to diaries, from record sheets to digital recordings.

Of course you should match the evidence type(s) selected to the requirements of the unit(s) or learning aims(s). For example, if a learning aim requires a practical demonstration then you should think about how that is going to be set up and recorded.

Be careful not to suggest a type of evidence that may be too short – for example, a ‘leaflet for new buyers’ may be a realistic form of assessment for business learners to produce but may not provide for sufficient breadth in itself depending on the assessment requirements.

For some evidence, the period for its production must be time-constrained and in some cases you may want to ensure authenticity by having some evidence produced in supervised conditions.

The tasks

The tasks should be a clear statement of what a learner needs to do to produce the evidence. You may explain the tasks to learners in more detail during delivery, but the assignment itself should be clear. You should remember to relate tasks to the scenario and to the evidence. If learners have been carrying out preparatory work – such as visits, rehearsals or skills exercises – then you may want to refer to this in the tasks.

Your tasks must:

● specify the nature and extent of the evidence

● be clear and include any specific materials or steps with times or dates when necessary

● refer to the assessment criteria that the evidence will be judged against

● encourage the generation of evidence that can be judged against the criteria

● be presented in a way the learner can understand – remember that the criteria are not in themselves tasks

● fit together to cover the learning aim sensibly, allowing learners to achieve to the best of their ability.

You must make sure that the tasks can generate evidence which cover the criteria. When you create tasks you don’t have to use the exact wording of the criteria, but you should pay close attention to it.

You should always list the criteria covered by each assignment – and also normally each task. When you quote the assessment criteria, please don’t change their wording. You can, of course, use a glossary of the wording of tasks to highlight what certain words mean. Many words will be repeated across criteria for different grades and your learners may find it useful if you highlight the changes.

You should remember that the criteria are used to judge the evidence, so completion of a task related to identified criteria does not automatically imply achievement.

Scope

You can choose the scope of an assignment provided that it fits well into the overall assignment plan for the unit(s) and the programme. For some qualifications it is normal practice to bring several units together for large-scale projects, while for others initial coverage of a topic in one unit may then be picked up in later, more specialist units.

ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE


19

When planning a unit-by-unit approach to assessment, you should make sure that learners understand through their learning how the units relate to each other and that the requirements for synopticity are addressed.

Assignments that span several units should be carefully controlled, and you need to decide whether it is only the learning or both learning and assessment that is considered together.

If you assess a learning aim several times using different assignments then you, as part of the programme team, and the learners must be aware of when the summative grade can be given, and from what evidence. There is never any ‘averaging’ of achievement or ‘aggregating’ of separate decisions – a single decision should be reached based on the relevant evidence.

Learner responsibility

You should make sure that learners know they must meet their deadlines and provide work that is genuinely their own, otherwise their grades will be affected. To support learners, you should explain how to reference the work of others and how to work in such a way that ensures they can declare that their work is their own.

We recommend that learners are given a guide to their assessment at induction to the programme. You can reinforce the expectations when assessed assignments are handed out.

Quality assurance

What is quality assurance?

Quality assurance is at the heart of vocational qualifications. For many BTEC units, assessment is completed by your centre and your centre is responsible for the grading and standard of assessments.

● You use quality assurance to ensure that your managers, internal verifiers and assessors are standardised and supported.

● We use quality assurance to check that all centres are working to national standards. This is done by sampling your marked assignments.

What is the purpose of quality assurance?

In your centre, quality assurance allows you to monitor and support your BTEC staff and to ensure that they understand, and are working to, national standards. It gives us the opportunity to identify and provide support where it is needed in order to safeguard certification. It also allows us to recognise and support good practice.

How does it work?

First of all, you need approval to deliver BTEC qualifications. By signing the approval declaration you confirm that you have in place all necessary resources, appropriately experienced staff, and quality-assurance policies and procedures. You should have standardised systems and procedures for registering and certificating learners, tracking learner achievement and monitoring assessment and internal verification.

During the delivery of a programme, internal verification is the quality-assurance system that you use to monitor assessment practice and decisions, ensuring that:

● assessment is consistent across the programme

● assessment tools are fit for purpose

ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE


20

● assessment decisions judge learner work accurately using assessment criteria

● standardisation of assessors takes place.

Internal verification is a recorded discussion between two or more professionals to ensure accuracy, fairness, consistency and quality of assessment. Internal verification procedures must:

● check all the assignment briefs or assessment tools used in every internally assessed unit

● check a sample of assessment decisions made for every internally assessed unit

● check a sample of assessment decisions from every assessor

● ensure that within the sample:

o the range of assessment decisions made is covered

o the experience of the assessor is taken into account when setting the sample size

o the sample size is sufficient to assure the accuracy of the assessment decisions for the whole group

● plan and document the process.

Our external quality-assurance processes include:

● annual visits to each centre to look at quality-assurance systems and procedures (Quality Review and Development)

● standards verification by a subject specialist to sample assessment and internal verification of learner work

● standardisation activities to support assessors, internal verifiers and lead internal verifiers.

Every year we publish an updated BTEC Quality Assurance Handbook to explain our external quality-assurance process for the next academic year. Along with the programme specification, the handbook should provide your programme team with everything they need to run vocational programmes successfully.

Centre roles and responsibilities

● Senior Managers The Head of Centre is formally responsible for ensuring that your centre acts in accordance with our terms and conditions of approval. These include ensuring the provision of appropriate resources, recruiting learners with integrity, providing full and fair access to assessment, maintaining full and accurate records of assessment, complying with all quality-assurance processes, and ensuring that all certification claims are secure and accurate. Day-to-day responsibility is normally delegated to the centre’s BTEC Quality Nominee.

● BTEC Quality Nominee Each centre is asked to identify a member of staff as its Quality Nominee for BTEC provision. This person is the main point of contact for information relating to quality assurance. Quality Nominees will receive regular information from us about all aspects of BTECs, which they should share with the relevant staff in their centre. Therefore, it is very important that Quality Nominee details are kept up to date on Edexcel Online. We recommend that your Quality Nominee is someone with responsibility for the BTEC curriculum because they will be involved in monitoring and supporting staff in your centre. The Quality Nominee should ensure that BTEC programmes are managed effectively and actively encourage and promote good practice in your centre.

ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE


21

● Examinations Officer The Examinations Officer is the person designated by the centre to take responsibility for the correct administration of Edexcel learners. This person normally acts as the administrator for Edexcel Online – our system for providing direct access to learner administration, external reports and standardisation materials.

● BTEC Programme Leader The Programme Leader (or Programme Manager) is the person designated by your centre to take overall responsibility for the effective delivery and assessment of a BTEC programme. The Programme Leader may also act as the Lead Internal Verifier.

● Lead Internal Verifier The Lead Internal Verifier is the person designated by your centre to act as the sign-off point for the assessment and internal verification of programmes within a principal subject area (for example, BTEC Firsts and Nationals in Business, or BTEC Firsts and Level 1 in Engineering). We provide Lead Internal Verifiers with access to standardisation materials. The Lead Internal Verifier should be someone with the authority to oversee assessment outcomes. Ideally this would be the Programme Leader, because this would normally be a key part of their role. They should be directly involved in the assessment and delivery of programmes and able to coordinate across Assessors and other Internal Verifiers for a principal subject area.

● Assessors and Internal Verifiers The programme team consists of the teachers who are responsible for the delivery, assessment and internal verification of the BTEC qualification. An assessor is anyone responsible for the assessment of learners. An internal verifier can be anyone involved in the delivery and assessment of the programme. Please note that if a teacher writes an assignment brief they cannot internally verify it. Someone else should perform this function. Where there is a team of assessors, it is good practice for all to be involved in internally verifying each other. If there is only one main person responsible for delivery and assessment then arrangements must be made for their assignments and assessment decisions to be internally verified by someone appropriately experienced.

Tips for successful BTEC quality assurance

● Recruit with integrity. Ensure that the learners you register on the programme are able to achieve at level 2 and have a specific interest in the vocational sector.

● Ensure that you have sufficiently qualified and vocationally experienced staff involved in delivery and assessment. BTECs are vocational qualifications, designed to be delivered by staff with expertise in their subject.

● Provide induction, training and ongoing development opportunities for your staff. Best practice comes from having staff that understand the BTEC ethos and assessment methodology and have up-to-date knowledge of their vocational sector.

● Use the free resources available. There is a wealth of guidance in the specifications and delivery guides that will help you with delivery and assessment.

● Make quality assurance part of everyone’s role. Quality assurance is a fundamental aspect of every role, from assessor to senior manager. Recognising this and providing time and resources to support quality assurance is the key to success.

● Plan ahead. You should begin a programme with a clear schedule for handing out assignments, assessment deadlines and internal verification, so that you are well prepared to ensure ongoing quality and able to address any issues quickly.

ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE


22

● Ensure good communication. Assessors, Internal Verifiers, Lead Internal Verifiers and managers should all be clear on their roles and how they interact. The Lead Internal Verifier must have a clear overview of the plan of assessment and how it is being put into practice.

● Provide clear, consistent feedback to learners, based on the grading criteria. This allows learners to know exactly how they are achieving on the programme, identifies areas for development, and encourages them to take responsibility for their own learning.

● Undertake internal verification in a timely way. Assignment briefs must be internally verified before they are given to learners. A sample of assessment decisions should be internally verified as soon after assessment as possible to ensure that learners receive accurate and supportive feedback on their achievement.

● Track assessment and internal verification accurately as you go along. Assessment records should be kept at the level of the learning aim and assessment criterion/criteria. This gives a clear confirmation of individual achievement and identifies areas for improvement.

● Using standardised templates for all quality-assurance documents helps to ensure a consistent approach. We provide templates via our website that you can use for:

o internal verification of assignment briefs

o internal verification of assessment decisions

o observation records and witness statements.

● These templates are not mandatory and you are free to design your own, but using them will help to ensure that you are meeting requirements.

● Ensure that learner work is kept secure but is accessible during the programme. You will be required to provide learner work for external quality assurance while learners are on programme.


23

Units


24

UNIT 1: ENTERPRISE IN THE BUSINESS WORLD


25

Unit 1: Enterprise in the Business World

Delivery guidance

Approaching the unit

This is a practical unit, which allows your learners to investigate a range of factors that would affect the potential start-up of a business. It encourages your learners to research different business environments, and to assess the potential risks associated with them.

To complete this unit your learners will need access to a range of research materials, which could include the internet, journals or magazines, and books.

You can use a range of delivery methods in this unit, for example:

● presentations – of the final business model, of trends affecting business start-ups, particularly population

● discussions – class and small group discussions on the business environment

● case studies – illustrating entrepreneurial spirit, e.g. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg; also meeting demands of customers, e.g. Apple

Group work is also an acceptable form of delivery but you must ensure that learners individually produce work that meets the assessment criteria.

Delivering the learning aims

It is worth considering the use of local entrepreneurs to enhance your learner’s experience. You could ask these entrepreneurs to act as mentors to your learners during the planning process of a business idea.

Group work will be a useful way to generate ideas. You should use the session to allow all learners to come up with an individual idea. This can then be presented to a group of learners and that group can then select the best idea to pursue. Ask learners to focus on problems they have in their everyday life that could generate a need for a product or service in the local market. Ideas could be for a product or a service that your learners feel would meet the needs of their local area. Your learners should be encouraged to identify their potential target market through further detailed research.

The idea generating session could also be a question-and-answer session focussing on key aspects of the research required, and identifying key terms that learners will need to understand in order to access good quality research, for example, trends, demographics, environment.

You could use TV advertisements to identify product placement, for example the very successful comparethemarket.com advertisements using the meerkats and the subsequent spin off products from that.

The emphasis is on planning and producing a coherent business model. For instance, the Dragon’s Den TV programme provides examples of how to present a business plan. Your learners could present their business plans to a group of local business people for critique. This will give your learners ideas credibility and allow them to refine their plan.

This is a synoptic unit and you should look for opportunities to deliver it alongside relevant optional units. If you want to, you can change the order in which you teach units to allow your learners to identify a business idea initially, followed by the



26

necessary investigations to ensure that their business plan contains sufficient research of their local and national markets.

This unit has strong links to other units in this qualification and it is likely that you will deliver it throughout the period of study, using the other units in the specification to underpin and strengthen your learners’ knowledge about starting a new business.



27

Getting started This provides you with a starting place for one way of delivering the unit, based around the suggested assignments and tasks in the specification.


Introduction Begin by introducing the unit to learners through a group discussion covering what ‘enterprise’ means. This can be followed by outlining the aims and scope of the unit.

Learning aim A: Know how trends and the current business environment may impact on a business

Learning aim B: Plan an idea for a new business

Assignment 1: Investigating the Business Environment Scenario: You have decided that you would like to set up a business. You will research local businesses to understand the local business market and to see whether there is a gap in the market that you could fill with your new business idea. To do this, you will need to consider both current trends and the current business environment, and their impact on businesses.

● As group work or individually, your learners could research current trends within business and how the business environment can impact on new business start up, e.g. local issues (such as premises, resources, staff) and national issues (such as government legislation, taxation, the economy). You could start with a presentation to explain key terms within the business environment, e.g. business start up, resources etc. This presentation could then be used as a basis for the research to be undertaken, particularly within the local area. If learners have an idea they know they want to develop further into a business idea, they could use this research to identify how the environment could affect their own business idea.

● Learners could then identify relevant and reliable sources of information that will be useful in the local business environment, e.g. networking sites and organisations, trade journals.

● As a group, learners could then discuss different sectors of the population that can affect business e.g. trends within business, especially demographics where population and birth rate changes could have an effect on the life cycle of a product; also ensuring that the right products get to the right sections of the population.

● Learners could go on to identify the difference between a variety of sizes and types of organisation, e.g. small business vs large business and the staffing issues that could bring. For example, a small business may have some key people who have particular expertise so therefore any holiday or sickness cover may be dealt with very differently to that of a large company where cover may be available from different people in a department.

● In small group work, learners could then discuss and generate ideas for a new start-up business with supporting evidence. What makes a business idea successful, e.g. innovation, services to meet needs? What are the features and benefits of the business? Learners bring together an initial plan for the business idea.



28


Learning aim C: Present a business model for a business start-up

Assignment 2: My Business Idea Scenario: You will research which businesses in the local area are currently successful, and why. You will then plan and decide on a realistic idea for a proposed business start-up, as well as deciding on the format for the ownership of the business. When presenting your realistic business model, you need to include your research, the type of ownership proposed, whether you have chosen to provide services or goods, your aims, objectives and sources of finance for the business, who your stakeholders are and a justification of why you think your business will be successful.

● When learners consider the choices of format for their business – e.g. partnership, sole trader etc and the implications, they could create explanatory notes and other key documents that give extra information concerning how the model will work.

● They could identify relevant sources of finance through research and networks that would be needed for the start-up.

● When planning and presenting their business model for a new start-up business, learners should create a presentation which details findings from research and discussions taking into account, for example, whether the business is goods or services, means of delivery to customers, business aims, objectives, stakeholders and their influence on the business, finances and costs for start-up, the business environment, type of ownership, demographics and sources of help that can be obtained when starting up a new business, such as the Prince’s Trust, family members etc.



29

Details of links to other BTEC units and qualifications, and to other relevant units/qualifications ● BTEC Firsts in Business:

o Unit 2: Finance for Business

o Unit 3: Promoting a Brand

o Unit 4: Principles of Customer Service

o Unit 5: Sales and Personal Selling

o Unit 6: Introducing Retail Business

o Unit 7: Involving Business Support

o Unit 8: Recruitment, Selection and Employment

● BTEC Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Enterprise and Entrepreneurship (QCF):

o Unit 3: The Business Environment

o Unit 4: Researching your Market

o Unit 6: Financial Modelling and Forecasting

o Unit 7: Preparing and Pitching a Business Plan

Resources Textbooks

In addition to the resources listed below, publishers are likely to produce Edexcel-endorsed textbooks that support this unit of the BTEC Firsts in Business. Check the Edexcel website (www.edexcel.com/resources) for more information as titles achieve Edexcel endorsement.

Barrow, P., The Best-Laid Business Plans: How to Write Them, How to Pitch Them, Virgin Books, 2001 (ISBN 978-0-7535-0537-3)

Bentley, P., Carysforth, C., Chandler-Corris, L., Glencross, K. and Nield, M., BTEC First Level 2 Business Student Book, Pearson Education, 2012 (ISBN 978-1-446-90136-6) A student book for Level 2 that includes content to support learning on this unit.

Reuvid, J. and Millar, R., Start Up and Run Your Own Business (8th edition), Kogan Page, 2011 (ISBN 978-0-7494-6060-0)

Websites

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006vq92 Dragon’s Den programmes

www.businesslink.gov.uk Business Link – advice and information

www.ft.com/home/uk Financial Times homepage

www.sfedi.co.uk Support and Business Enterprise

www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/index.html National Statistics Office

BF031237 – Delivery Guide – BTEC Firsts in Business – Issue 1 – November 2012 © Pearson Education Limited 2012

30

UNIT 2: FINANCE FOR BUSINESS


31


Delivery guidance This unit is externally assessed using an onscreen test that is available on-demand. Guidance given here should be used in order to prepare your learners for the test.

The unit gives your learners an introduction to the financial aspects of business. It looks at the costs involved, how businesses make a profit and how they plan for and measure success.

Using local businesses will enhance the delivery of this unit, and help learners to understand the important role that finance plays within a business setting. It will also help put a real-life slant on how financial decisions relating to the business are made to ensure that the business remains profitable, and continues to grow. You should introduce your learners to the costs involved in business and how to calculate the gross and net profit of a business.

You can use case studies of successful organisations, e.g. Innocent Drinks, to illustrate how business start-ups identify costs and calculate break-even point within their forecasts. Asking members of local businesses to come and talk to your group about the key terms used within budgeting e.g. expenditure, income and break-even such as costs, revenue, total costs, variable costs will help bring the concepts to life. You could use small businesses, relevant to the learners’ experience, to illustrate the concept of cash flow. A good example is a business set up to produce games/applications for smart phones; initial costs are likely to be high and, invariably, payment will not occur until the end of a project or job, potentially causing cash flow issues.

You will also introduce your learners to budgeting; you could deliver this by first focusing on learners’ personal budgets and then applying the theory to a business.

Group discussions can be used to illustrate key points and terms, e.g. budgeting, cash flow, break even.

Learners will be introduced to the concept of a financial statement/ balance sheet and income statement /profit and loss account and how these documents are created and used in business to show the financial position of a business and to aid decision making. Your learners should also begin to use key financial information to make judgements and identify how a business can increase their profit. Using case studies and extracts from balance sheets will help learners understand the key terms used in these documents and will provide a real live example of how financial documents are completed.

There are strong links between this unit and Unit 1: Enterprise in the Business World. The concepts learned in this unit can be applied to Unit 1, and incorporated into a presentation that captures key financial information, and data that learners will be required to include to successfully identify a potential new business start-up.



32

Getting started This provides you with a starting place for one way of delivering the unit. Activities are provided in preparation for the external assessment.


Introduction Introduce the aims and scope of the unit to your learners and outline how they will be assessed.

Learning aim A: Understand the costs involved in business and how businesses make a profit

Costs and revenue in business

● Group discussions could be held to help identify key terms involved in business finance, e.g. start-up costs, operating costs. This group discussion could be supplemented by a presentation identifying key terms used in business finance.

● Learners could undertake online research for identifying sources of revenue for a business, e.g. where their sales will come from, to enable the business to make money.

● Case studies could be used to identify how cash is important to businesses and how cash flow can be used to grow the business, e.g. finance examples at: www.thetimes100.co.uk

Learning aim B: Understand how businesses plan for success

Predicting a profit

● Learners will benefit from group discussions with a finance manager or accountant to identify how to business plan and set budgets.

● Present learners with case studies to identify how successful businesses use planning tools to ensure success.

● Demonstrate how to use IT, in order to allow simple cash flow and budgets to be compiled.

● A presentation could be created by learners bringing together all the key issues in relation to planning a business and how planning key elements, e.g. cash flow, budget and break even, can help the success of a business in that the owners are informed in advance of any issues which may be on the horizon which may be detrimental to the business.

Learning aim C: Understand how businesses measure success and identify areas for improvement

Measuring success and identifying improvements

● Learners could take part in group discussions to discuss how businesses make a profit and to understand how gross and net profit is achieved.

● Case studies could be used to illustrate how businesses identify how profits can be increased, what can be done to ensure that sales are sufficiently increased to ensure profits are high, e.g. supermarkets use different strategies for pricing of different types of goods to get customers to shop there, where they will hopefully purchase more goods whilst in store.

● Completing financial forecasts.

Practice test

Learners to complete a practice test.



33


External online test

Review the test with your learners through a whole-group discussion on any issues or misunderstandings from set questions.

If any learners fail their first online assessment, they should take part in a revision session before they re-sit. Review the test with any of your learners who need to re-sit, holding a group discussion on any issues or misunderstandings from the questions.

Details of links to other BTEC units and qualifications, and to other relevant units/qualifications BTEC Firsts in Business:


This unit has links to the following units in the Level 2 NVQ in Business Administration:

● Unit 46: Agree a Budget.

Resources Textbooks



Websites

www.bized.co.uk Business Education resource site.

http://innocentdrinks.co.uk/us/our_story/index.cfm Innocent Drinks – the story of how the company started.

www.thetimes100.co.uk The Times 100 business studies resource centre.

www.tutor2u.net Tutor2U Resources and revision materials.


34

UNIT 3: PROMOTING A BRAND


35

Unit 3: Promoting a Brand

Delivery guidance


This unit provides learners with the opportunity to look in detail at the use of branding, explore the promotional mix within a business, and also put the theory into practice by developing and promoting a brand. This unit give your learners to opportunity to identify:

● how customers respond to their brand

● how the brand will be promoted within their customer base

● how to achieve the right mix of promotion, advertising and public relations activities.

When your learners plan the promotion of their brand, they must bear in mind the cultural differences and changing environmental issues that may affect how customers perceive and respond to their brand.

Your learners would find it beneficial to use local entrepreneurs. They can give your learners advice and guidance on the best way to promote their product or service to ensure they are targeting the correct market.

You could also use visiting speakers to give your learners real-life examples of how businesses promote their products and services. Case studies could be built up around local enterprises and their promotion activities, as well as national and international brands. For example, you could explore Sainsbury’s supermarkets’ use of the slogan ‘Live Well for Less’ which promotes a range of grocery items aimed at families and saving money, and British Airways’s use of a huge advertising campaign to promote its service and win customer confidence after it resolved the cabin crew issues.


For learning aim A, you could get your learners to work in groups to investigate how the promotional mix is used within business in terms of advertising and promotion, and how businesses identify their target market segment. Your learners could look at a range of businesses. However, where sales promotion is concerned a good area to focus on would be local supermarkets, and how they promote their products through special offers, such as:

● buy two get third free

● money-off vouchers for specific products, which are given to customers at the till

● collection of loyalty points.

You could also deliver this unit using group discussions, particularly around the ‘four Ps’ of Product, Price, Place, Promotion, which could focus on different sectors and how these sectors promote their brands. Shopping centres, malls and retail parks would provide good case study material for discussion with your learners around identifying the different mix of brands within the centre, and also how individual stores within the centre promote themselves.

Learning aim B could be combined with Unit 1 and become part of a wider presentation given in a Dragon’s Den style activity, with local entrepreneurs acting as potential customers and giving advice and guidance on how the product or service is being promoted.



36


Unit 3: Promoting a Brand

Introduction You could consider linking this unit to Unit 1 to provide a practical solution to the promotion and branding of a product or service planned by your learners.

Learning aim A: Explore the use of branding and the promotional mix in business

Assignment 1: Branding and Promotion Scenario: You are working for a marketing consultancy business. You have been given the task of producing promotional material that provides information on branding and promotion to potential clients. To do this, you will need to research real brands to investigate the use of branding in businesses. Your research and assessment evidence will need to cover the importance of branding to the business and brand characteristics of the brands researched.

● Learners could use case studies to identify how companies promote their products and services and how they identify the markets they wish to pursue – e.g. Tesco sells insurance and has banking products as well as food.

● Learners could then hold group discussions focusing on supermarkets and local retail parks. For supermarkets, for example, they could look at the extra products supermarkets sell as part of their brand, what they offer customers in terms of loyalty points to encourage brand loyalty etc. For local retail parks, for example, they could look at how they provide free parking, promote a different shopping experience etc. Learners could also look at the types of retail outlets involved in town centre and out of town shopping areas and how they differ, and different types of retail outlets, e.g. designer outlets, a collection of chain stores.

● Following this, learners could undertake research activities on how national and international organisations develop their brand image to enhance the reputation of a product or service and ensure customers feel they are getting value for money – e.g. McDonald’s are constantly bringing out new meal deals with the same base products but offering customers better value and new products to try.

● Learners could also undertake research activities into recognisable logos and why organisations have logos, e.g. the Nike tick, Apple.

Learning aim B: Develop and promote a brand for a business

Assignment 2: Developing and Promoting My Brand Scenario: You are working for a marketing consultancy business. You have been given the task of designing a promotional campaign for a brand in response to a request from a client. To fulfil the client brief, you will need to go through the process of objective setting, applying branding methods and techniques, and promoting the brand image.

● Learners could use case studies to illustrate the power of branding not only in large organisations but small organisations too, for example The Virgin Group constantly keep the brand in the public domain using high profile acquisitions and assertive and positive advertising of current brands; comparethemarket.com started as a small internet company but has now grown into a nationwide phenomenon based on their use of meerkats. They have now extended the brand to include toys.



37

Unit 3: Promoting a Brand ● You could then lead whole-group discussions on how brands are created, and why. For

example, Manchester United is a brand that not only sells football, but sells merchandise around the world. Promotion of the brand is undertaken by everyone within the football club with the team taking part in high profile matches in different countries during the summer months. This leads to worldwide recognition of the brand and its value.

● Following this, learners could undertake research activities on how logos are created, creating a memorable logo, how logos help to promote a product, and promotional activities that can be carried out to reach target markets for products or services – e.g. the Nike tick is well known within sports goods; the McDonald’s arches are well known. Each of these well known brands also has a slogan which goes with the logo, which people remember. Nike – Just do it; McDonald’s – I’m lovin’ it.

● Learners could then give a presentation that demonstrates how the promotion plan for a business idea will take shape.



38

Details of links to other BTEC units and qualifications, and to other relevant units/qualifications ● BTEC Firsts in Business

o Unit 1: Enterprise in the Business World

o Unit 2: Finance for Business

o Unit 4: Principles of Customer Service

o Unit 5: Sales and Personal Selling

o Unit 6: Introducing Retail Business.

Resources Textbooks



Cox, R. and Brittain, P., Retailing: An Introduction (5th edition), FT Prentice Hall, 2004 (ISBN 978-0-273-67819-9)

Dion, J., The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Starting and Running a Retail Store, Alpha Books, 2008 (ISBN 978-1-59257-726-2)

O’Gunn, T., Advertising and Integrated Brand Promotion, International Edition, South Western College, 2008 (ISBN 978-0-324-56867-7)

Segel, R., Retail Business Kit for Dummies (2nd edition), John Wiley & Sons, 2008 (ISBN 978-0-470-29330-0)

Journals

Convenience Store (William Reed Business Media)

The Grocer (William Reed Business Media)

Independent Retailer (Sumner Communications)

Retail Week (Emap Ltd)

Websites

www.businesslink.gov.uk Business Link – advice and information.

www.hongkiat.com/blog/logo-evolution/ Provides learners with a history of how several well known brands have evolved, as well as the opportunity to create their own logo.

www.mrs.org.uk The Market Research Society.

www.tradingstandards.gov.uk Consumer protection information.

UNIT 4: PRINCIPLES OF CUSTOMER SERVICE


39

Unit 4: Principles of Customer Service

Delivery guidance


This unit focuses on how and why businesses provide customer service. It allows your learners to be practical when looking at different situations involving customer service, and to explore how they would deal with particular situations.

The unit allows your learners to put customer service into a vocational context. It can be delivered using a real work environment such as a work experience placement, or administration agency. Your learners can use any work experience they may have had to demonstrate how they dealt with customers in different situations. Alternatively, you could use role-play in simulated situations where one learner plays the worker and another/others the customer/customers.


The unit begins with your learners looking at customer service within business. You should discuss the meaning of customer service, the roles within business and the different types of customer service that business has. Discussion within groups can be used to identify any exposure learners have already had to customer service, particularly thinking of experiences they have had as a customer. Your learners should think about all the different situations in which customer service exists, and not limit themselves to their existing experience. Learners may have bought goods online and it is worth exploring the differences between buying on the internet and buying directly from a shop. This would be a good example of looking at how face-to-face situations should be handled by customer service staff.

You could use case studies of how businesses use customer service to ensure that a consistent and reliable service is delivered. For example, Morrisons supermarkets deliver a high quality of customer service to ensure they have a competitive advantage over their competitors. Case studies can also be used to show the reverse of this, and as discussion documents to show how businesses are affected by poor customer service. You may need to be creative when looking for case studies in relation to poor customer service as businesses rarely want this publicised.

The case studies you choose should be relevant to your learners and use businesses they recognise, such as Carphone Warehouse where employee training is key to their customer service and the brand of the company. Remember that customer service is a key to organisations whose main focus is the internet rather than face to face, for example O2 where a customer is offered the opportunity to message a customer service representative with their problem and receive instant feedback.

You could invite speakers from local businesses where customer service is a high priority to speak to your learners. You could ask your speakers to focus on: real-life examples of customer service practice; the outcomes from particular situations; and how their organisation provides effective customer service by having robust and rigid organisational procedures.

Your learners should be able to identify:

● different types of customers

● skills that are required to deliver customer service consistently and reliably

UNIT 4: PRINCIPLES OF CUSTOMER SERVICES


40

● that different types of communication will be required for different types of customers

● that it is important to treat customers as individuals.

Your learners will also have the opportunity to think about how customer service is embedded in an organisation through using procedures that ensure that all legal and regulatory requirements are met.



41


Unit 4: Principles of Customer Service

Introduction Outline the unit to your learners. You could introduce customer service by showing your learners website/video clips of good and poor customer service to initiate a discussion.

Learning aim A: Understand how businesses provide customer service

Assignment 1: What is Customer Service? Scenario: You are working in a business as a customer services advisor. You have been given the task of assisting the customer service manager to prepare training materials for new staff. To do this, you will need to investigate how customer service is provided in other businesses. You will then use your research to create training materials that new staff can use to learn about providing good customer service.

Your learners should be involved in: ● group discussions on what customer service is and how an organisation can provide it

reliably and consistently, for example a contact centre may give operators a script so that information given to customers is consistent

● case studies which give details of how organisations deliver customer service in practice, for example, how Morrisons supermarkets use customer service to gain competitive advantage

● research activities to identify companies that actively promote good customer service, for example, Carphone Warehouse who operate extensive training for all staff to promote good customer service

● pair or group work identifying procedures which are used by organisations which promote good customer service, for example Avon Cosmetics have extensive procedures on line for their representatives to follow to ensure customer service is consistent.

Learning aim B: Demonstrate appropriate customer service skills in different situations

Assignment 2: Handling Customers Scenario: You are working in a business as a customer services advisor. You need to develop your skills in providing customer service to a range of different customer types in different customer service situations. You will be observed with three customer types in different customer service situations. You will need to demonstrate effective communication skills and your knowledge of how to meet the needs and expectations of these customers within the limits of your own authority. When demonstrating your customer service skills, your performance will be observed by either your teacher (who will take on the role of your supervisor/manager) or your supervisor/manager from either a part-time job or work placement.

Your learners should be involved in: ● role play which will give learners the opportunity to identify how customers’

expectations can be met and exceeded, for example taking real life situations to deal with issues customers may have, ensuring that customers leave satisfied

● class discussion on how to deal with customers, including difficult customers or customers with special needs, for example identifying the best way to deal with aggressive or argumentative customers


42

Unit 4: Principles of Customer Service ● pair or group work identifying different types of customer service situations, i.e. online,

face to face, for example working in a call/contact centre ● research on relevant legislation, which must be met by organisations, for example

Consumer Protection Act.



● Unit 2: Finance for Business



● Unit 6: Introducing Retail Business.

This unit has links to the following units in the Level 2 NVQ in Customer Service:

● Unit 2: Maintain a positive and customer-friendly attitude

● Unit 3: Communicate effectively with customers

● Unit 5: Provide customer service within the rules

● Unit 7: Understand customer service to improve service delivery.

BTEC Intermediate and Advanced Apprenticeships (QCF) in Customer Service and Contact Centre Operations at Levels 2 and 3. See http://pearsonwbl.edexcel.com/quals/btec-apprenticeships/Pages/default.aspx

Resources Textbooks



Bradley, S., S/NVQ Level 2 Customer Service (2nd edition), Heinemann, 2007 (ISBN 978-0-435-46529-2)

Carlaw, P. and Deming, V.K., The Big Book of Customer Service Training Games, US Adaptations, 2006 (ISBN 978-0-07-711476-3)

Harris, E.K., Customer Service: A Practical Approach (6th edition), Pearson, 2012 (ISBN 978-0-13-297434-9)

Leland, K. and Bailey, K., Customer Service for Dummies (3rd edition), John Wiley & Sons, 2006 (ISBN 978-0-471-76869-2)

Journals

Customerfirst (Institute of Customer Service)

Websites



43

www.cfa.co.uk Council for Administration.

www.institute ofcustomerservice.com Institute for Customer Service.


44

UNIT 5: SALES AND PERSONAL SELLING


45

Unit 5: Sales and Personal Selling

Delivery guidance


In this unit learners have the opportunity to explore the role of selling, research selling techniques and accompanying legislation, role play personal selling skills and reflect on their performance.


Firstly, learners could split into small groups to explore the importance of the sales function, including how this helps a business, its employees and its customers. They could use examples from different types of businesses to discuss the role of the sales staff, and the types of skills and knowledge that would be needed in order to sell products or services, such as a retail store, an estate agent or a call centre.

This could develop into discussions comparing the effectiveness of the techniques used when making sales, such as cold calling, face-to-face or telesales, with learners using examples from their own experiences as customers to assess the outcomes.

Learners need to be aware of the relevant, current, and applicable legislation that affects personal selling. Through using case study materials, learners can have an appreciation of the principles, but it is unnecessary for them to have an in-depth knowledge or be able to quote huge chunks of legislation.

Learners will not only know about selling. They will also show that they can demonstrate the selling skills and processes necessary to make sales. You could use case studies and video clips of suitable scenarios with your learners to help them understand the steps needed for preparing for personal selling, including having an appropriate appearance and attitude. You could also use role-play activities with your learners to:

● practise and improve communication skills to create a positive impression

● ensure a successful sale by applying both verbal and non-verbal techniques with customers in different situations such as greeting, generating interest, and presenting the product.

You could use role-play for the preparation of the sales physical environment and the likely impact upon buyer behaviour such as accessibility for disabled people, furnishings, physical décor, and any health and safety hazards.

Learners must be aware of other aspects of selling such as closing sales and handling objections, as these are part of the process. Learners should appreciate the importance of closing sales, as it is the stage in the selling process at which the salesperson gets a purchase commitment from the buyer. They are not, however, required to close a sale to pass the unit.

Techniques such as silent close, direct close and alternative close, and also responses to customer objections and complaints in routine and non-routine situations could also be approached through role play.

Role plays could be recorded for assessment evidence, but must be accompanied by the relevant official observation records, witness statements as well as learner speech or notes from the role play; this could inform a self-evaluation of performance and identify areas for skills improvement.



46



Introduction You could introduce this unit with a group discussion on selling and selling techniques. This could be followed by a brief outline of the scope of the unit and how it can be linked to other units.

Learning aim A: Explore the role of sales staff

Assignment 1: New Starter Induction Scenario: You are working in a department store as a sales advisor. You have been given the task of assisting your manager to prepare training materials for new sales staff. To do this, you will need to investigate how other sales staff in the store use their skills and knowledge to sell products to customers. You will then use your research to create training materials for new staff to learn about the role and function of sales staff in the business, and which offer guidance on how to sell products effectively to customers.

● Learners could work in pairs or groups to examine the role of selling and its importance to business. They could use case studies to investigate the purposes of selling goods and services in a business (to obtain a Merit or Distinction learners will need to investigate two businesses). Relevant examples may include a retail store, a call centre, or an estate agents. Learners could then undertake research activities in a selected business to determine the functions of sales staff.

● Following this, you could lead learners in holding discussions on the knowledge and skills required of those working in personal sales. For example, someone working on the cosmetics counter in a department store will use different methods to secure a sale than someone who works in a call centre selling travel insurance. One is face-to-face contact with the customer with the emphasis on personal physical presentation, in the other method the impact on the customer is made through verbal presentation.

● Learners could use case study materials to research the selling methods and techniques used for selling products, for example, the importance of product knowledge, closing the sale.

● Learners could then undertake research and discussion on the law in respect of selling goods and services. They need to understand the broad principles of legislation, but not the details. Learners could look at any extra policies and procedures businesses have that complement the legal requirements, for example price matching and/or after-sales service.

Learning aim B: Demonstrate personal selling skills and processes

Assignment 2: Making Sales Scenario: You are working in a department store as a sales advisor. You need to prepare to sell products to customers. You will demonstrate personal selling skills and processes, and also effective customer care skills in different selling situations. This will include dealing with customer enquiries and problems or complaints. You will reflect on your personal selling skills and suggest improvements that you could make in the future. When demonstrating your personal selling skills, your performance will be observed by either your teacher (who will take on the role of your supervisor/manager) or your supervisor/manager from either a part-time job or work placement.



47


● Learners could undertake role-play activities to demonstrate they can use selling skills. They could prepare for role-play of personal selling skills, for example, by watching video clips or drawing on their own experiences if they have part-time work. Evidence can be provided through observation reports, witness testimonies, photos, video recordings and learner accounts. The preparation would also involve product knowledge, understanding buyer behaviour, as well as preparing the physical sales environment.

● You could provide suitable case studies or scenarios for role playing/practising personal selling skills to prepare for making sales, handling customer queries, problems and complaints in a variety of situations. For example, developing verbal and non-verbal communication skills for greeting and welcoming customers through to closing a sale in a retail outlet. Learners need to show they have the personal selling skills that convey a positive image and demonstrate providing good customer care. Where possible, role play can be used with supporting props, such as displayed merchandise or a sales counter.

● Learners need to reflect on their own performance or customer experiences of selling activities using feedback from others and their own notes – for example, what went well, what they would do differently next time.



48

Details of links to other BTEC units and qualifications, and to other relevant units/qualifications This unit links to the following National Occupational Standards in Customer Service:

● Unit A1: Maintain a Positive and Customer-Friendly Attitude

● Unit A3: Communicate Effectively with Customers

● Unit A4: Give Customers a Positive Impression of Yourself and your Organisation

● Unit A10: Deal with Customers Face-to-face

● Unit C1: Recognise and Deal with Customer Queries, Requests and Problems

This unit also links to the following units in the BTEC Firsts in Business:




Resources Textbooks



Hopkins, T. and Kench, B., Selling for Dummies (3rd edition), John Wiley & Sons, 2007 (ISBN 978-0-470-51259-3) Provides tips and techniques on the selling process.

Websites

www.businesslink.gov.uk Links to information on selling and the law.

www.cfa.uk.com/standards.html Website for the government recognised apprenticeship issuing authority responsible for business skills, including marketing and sales.

UNIT 6: INTRODUCING RETAIL BUSINESS


49

Unit 6: Introducing Retail Business

Delivery guidance


In this unit your learners will gain an overview of the retail industry through understanding the structure and organisation of retail business and the relationship between retail business and the external environment. Learners should research and discuss what retail business entails, visit retail outlets where possible and research and discuss the developments in retail business, and their impacts.


You could provide initial input for your learners on the different types of ownership that exist and how this relates to the supply chain, supported by case studies.

In small groups your learners could then research using retail websites, which contain a wealth of information regarding individual retailers’ ownership, markets, channels, formats, locations and sub-sectors. This could be followed by visits to a number of different types of outlet.

You could invite guest speakers from local and national retail groups to visit your centre and to present and discuss the structure and organisation, types of retail job roles, and the other businesses that support them in their operations.

Your learners could then work in small groups to gather information on the structure and organisation of their local retail environments. They could identify factors that influence choice of channel such as availability of parking, delivery routes, local infrastructure and location and residential and commercial areas. They also need to look at the aims and objectives used in retail businesses and how these businesses measure performance. Learners should also consider retail businesses both in the UK and the rest of the world.

Ideally your learners should gain practical experience and knowledge of as many different retail outlets as possible, including retail parks and shopping malls, factory outlets, high street and local shopping areas. The internet is useful to identify and analyse online shopping channels. Encourage learners to investigate alternative retail channel formats, and develop awareness of how technology is influencing retail channels.

For learning aim B it is important for your learners to understand the links between retail and the wider political and economic environment and in particular the impact the external environment may have on a retail business. Your learners could debate through group discussions how certain external influences might affect a retail business. For example, what effect out-of-town retail developments could have on the high street or local communities.

Guest speakers from local and national retailers would be useful to give examples of how they support the local community, such as providing employment and supporting projects or sponsoring events. Learners could work in small groups to investigate the benefits, and any negative impacts on the community, of retail developments, such as increased traffic, or new housing that puts increased demand on local services. There are many retail websites containing valuable information on social responsibility issues, relationships with communities and contribution to economic prosperity.

Guest speakers would also be useful to explain issues faced when operating overseas. Your learners could then work in small groups to research different international retailers and identify the specific differences encountered when trading in different countries, such as cultural considerations or economic restrictions.



50

Getting started This provides you with a starting place for one way of delivering the unit, based around the suggested assignments and tasks in the Specification.


Introduction You could introduce this unit to learners with a group discussion on their experiences of retail business and what retail business entails. This could be followed by a brief outline of the scope of the unit and how it can be linked to other units.

Learning aim A: Explore the structure and organisation of a retail business

Assignment 1: What is Retail Business? Scenario: You are working on behalf of the British Retail Consortium to provide information for an article for a local newspaper on raising the awareness of retail businesses in the area. To do this, you will need to research retail businesses in the local area, looking at sizes and sub-sectors. Your article must contain examples of real businesses.

● You could input theory for your learners on the structure and organisation of retail business including types, sizes and sub-sectors. Learners could then use case studies or the internet to research the supply chains, for example, for their breakfast cereal or favourite energy drink. To help understand different retail channels, you could lead discussions on where learners are able to purchase items of clothing or footwear, iPhones etc, and highlight the differences between outlet and non-outlet retailing, as well as the role of technology.

● Your learners could then take part in group activities to research information on retail job roles in different retail businesses. This can be broken down into research activities into sub-sectors, sizes of business, and different types of ownership, comparing a large public limited company such as Tesco with a small independent trader. This research could involve, for example, looking at job roles and what these involve, pay, hours of work, training, and career opportunities. Guest speakers could be invited to discuss the role of businesses that support other businesses, for example accountancy firms, suppliers, IT support, transport.

● Learners should be able to visit a variety of retail outlets such as shopping malls, markets, the high street, retail parks, as well as using the internet to gather information on the structure and organisation of local businesses. They should look at these retail outlets in relation to other factors such as car parking, location, local infrastructure, residential and commercial areas.

● You could lead discussions on the importance for retail businesses to measure performance and learners could undertake research on the aims and objectives of different businesses linking how the key performance indicators (KPIs) help achieve these.

Learning aim B: Investigate the relationship between retail business and the external environment

Assignment 2: Development for the Better? Scenario: Continuing your work for the British Retail Consortium, you will examine the relationship between developments in retail business and the effect on the local community. You will be presenting your findings to representatives of the local retail business community (these could be real members of the local retail business community or peers and teachers taking on these roles).



51


Assignment 3: The Bigger Picture Scenario: Continuing your work for the British Retail Consortium, you will look at factors a retail business would need to consider if it decided to operate in another country. You will use your research to produce some guidance for retail businesses considering operating in another country.

● In support of assignment 2 you could provide your learners with input into developments in retail business and the effect on the local community, for example the impact on small retailers and the high street of out-of-town retail parks.

● You could then lead a discussion with your learners about the interaction of retail businesses with the external environment and the impact of these, including the benefits. For example, environmental issues, through green site developments possibly having a negative effect by increasing traffic, also a positive economic impact by providing employment or regenerating a run-down area.

● A guest speaker could be invited to discuss local community initiatives and social, customer and economic benefits.

● Your learners could then undertake group research on impacts caused by retail developments including political, environmental, ethical, and community concerns. Learners could discuss any new proposed shopping developments and what local people thought about it, including both concerns and benefits.

● In support of assignment 3 you could invite a guest speaker to discuss issues faced when operating internationally. Learners could prepare a questionnaire to ask specific questions relating to the issues faced when locating in other countries, for example, cultural issues including language barriers, time zones, economic considerations etc.

● In pairs or groups your learners could then undertake research comparing factors affecting different types of retail business that operate internationally, such as Tesco, which physically operates in other countries, with a small independent business based in the UK and operating online.



52




Resources Textbooks



Hopkins, T. and Kench, B., Selling for Dummies (3rd edition), John Wiley & Sons, 2007 (ISBN 978-0-470-51259-3) Provides tips and techniques on the selling process.

Journals

The Grocer (William Reed Business Media) Retail Week (Emap Ltd)

Websites

www.skillsmartretail.com/ Website for the Sector Skills Council, Skillsmart Retail UK, with links to the National Skills Academy for Retail Skills.

UNIT 7: PROVIDING BUSINESS SUPPORT


53

Unit 7: Providing Business Support

Delivery guidance


In this unit your learners need to understand the purpose of providing business support.

It is a practical unit where learners will visit businesses to learn about business support, learn about how to use different types of office equipment, and research and practise how to organise and support meetings.


Learners could start by discussing the different types of business support needed in a business. In small groups they could investigate an area of support in a selected business, for example reception, then feedback to the group to share their findings.

You could provide input on the purpose of providing business support, and set up visits for your learners to different businesses which will help familiarise them with the range of types of support, irrespective of the size of the business.

For learning aim B, learners will need to be introduced to types of office equipment, learn what it is used for, how to use it and understand the importance of following safety procedures and user instructions so they do not damage either themselves or the equipment.

The wider features of some equipment can be demonstrated, such as stapling or sorting when photocopying. Safety techniques such as those required for lifting and handling stock and supplies can best be shown with video clips or DVDs. Small-group discussions can highlight the kinds of problems most likely to be experienced with the equipment and how these should be dealt with. Learners should have plenty of opportunities for practical exercises using office equipment, and you could provide in-tray tasks to support this.

For learning aim C, learners need to develop practical skills involved in organising and providing support for meetings. Learners could investigate different types of meetings held in the centre or a local business to determine levels of formality and the tasks involved to support the meeting. Role play scenarios or case studies where learners take on different roles would provide the opportunity for planning a meeting, setting up the room, preparing agendas and taking minutes by recording the proceedings and then word processing the notes.

It would be useful to show the learners video/DVD clips of the protocol of meetings, followed by learner discussions on what makes a successful meeting, the types of planning problems that can happen and how these can be dealt with. To provide support for external meetings involving tasks such as making accommodation or travel arrangements, you could provide in-tray requests such as booking a hotel or a flight so that learners could research getting the best solution to meet requirements.

Your learners will also need to know and practise the follow-up activities involved in clearing and vacating a room after a meeting, e.g. leaving it clean and tidy, returning any equipment and forgotten personal belongings, making sure no confidential material is left behind and preparing and circulating any relevant documentation according to instructions.



54


Unit 7: Providing Business Support

Introduction You could introduce this unit to learners with a group discussion on their own experiences of business support. This could be followed by a brief outline of the scope of the unit and how it can be linked to other units.

Learning aim A: Understand the purpose of providing business support

Assignment 1: Supporting Business Scenario: You work for a business consultancy that has been asked to audit the efficiency of business support in two contrasting businesses. You will need to explain the purpose of the different business support used in these businesses, including how the features and functions of office equipment meet different business requirements. You will also need to explain the business support required in these two businesses.

● You could lead discussions on the purpose of business support and learners could then research the types of support tasks carried out. They could carry out group activities, comparing the support functions for a large and small business, for example reception desk functions.

● Learners could then visit businesses or you could arrange a guest speaker to talk to them about the business support job roles, what these involve, and the main purpose of the job.

Learning aim B: Use office equipment safely for different purposes

Learning aim C: Organise and provide support for meetings

Assignment 2: Meeting Support Scenario: You will organise and provide business support for a meeting, and all follow-up activities. This will include booking a room or venue, booking equipment, and all other preparatory work, including sending information to attendees, organising resources, and all follow-up activities such as clearing the room afterwards. You will set up the meeting room, assist meeting delegates, provide accurate documents and records both prior to, during and after the meeting, including taking accurate notes during the meeting. When providing business support, you will also demonstrate that you can use office equipment safely and correctly.

● You could provide a demonstration of office equipment to your learners so they have an awareness of the uses of equipment and how to use it safely to get the best results without damaging themselves or the equipment. Your learners could then hold a group discussion about the features of office equipment, and how to deal with any likely problems they could experience when using it.

● You could follow this by showing your learners video clips of safety aspects in the office such as safe lifting techniques when moving boxes of stationery, and get learners to assess their own positioning when working with computers. Learners should practise techniques under strict supervision.

● Your learners should have plenty of opportunities to practise using office equipment safely by completing in-tray activities involving producing business documents, using telephone systems, photocopiers, booking accommodation and welcoming visitors.



55

Unit 7: Providing Business Support ● For organising and providing support for meetings you could discuss theories about

them. Learners could undertake research activities into different types of meeting and reasons why meetings are held.

● Learners could undertake group activities to plan and organise support for a meeting by identifying the range of tasks involved such as booking venues, preparing documentation, organising resources, then drawing up a checklist. You could provide role-play scenarios or case studies for learners to practise skills for tasks to support meetings, including setting up the room, taking notes and producing documentation. It is important that learners practise taking on different roles. For external meetings or meetings which involve external delegates attending, in-tray activities could include booking accommodation and travel in a cost-effective manner.

● You could lead a discussion on follow-up activities, for example clearing the venue, writing up the minutes, and circulating documents. Learners could then practise follow-up activities.



56

Details of links to other BTEC units and qualifications, and to other relevant units/qualifications This unit links to the following National Occupational Standards in Business and Administration:

● Unit 211: Produce documents in a business environment

● Unit 213: Prepare text from notes

● Unit 231: Use office equipment

● Unit 311: Meet and welcome visitors

● Unit 321: Support the organisation of business travel or accommodation

● Unit 411: Support the organisation of meetings

This unit also links to the following units in the BTEC Firsts in Business:



Resources Textbooks



Websites

www.cfa.uk.com The Council for Administration information on occupational standards.

www.hse.gov.uk Health and Safety Executive information on health and safety aspects in the workplace.

UNIT 8: RECRUITMENT, SELECTION AND EMPLOYMENT


57

Unit 8: Recruitment, Selection and Employment

Delivery guidance


This unit requires learners to investigate the different jobs within contrasting business organisations and to consider how they might prepare for a career within a given business.

It is a practical unit where learners will liaise with employers to learn about the roles and functions within a business, practise applying for a job and produce a career plan.

The unit lends itself particularly well to engagement with local employers.


For learning aim A, guest speaker input or a visit to carefully selected business would allow learners to see the different business job roles and functions in action. For example, it might be possible to tour a local office and meet staff from the finance, human resources and marketing functions. This would allow learners to write profiles of the departments that most interest them. Meeting staff at different levels of seniority would allow learners to profile their job roles as well.

An alternative approach to this unit might be to run the Young Enterprise Companies Programme alongside the course, allowing learners to produce profiles of the different functional areas in their own business.

For learning aim B, local employers could ask learners to prepare a job description and a person specification for an appropriate vacancy within their business. Learners could then:

● present these documents to their assigned business in order to justify the effectiveness of their documents

● select an appropriate job from a local paper and complete the relevant application documents, using a person specification and job description to tailor their application to that specific post.

For learning aim C, engagement with a local employer could provide an opportunity for learners to practise their interview skills with a real manager or other senior member of staff. Local Education Business Partnership offices often provide a service where they will organise practice interview sessions for a small fee.

Simulated interview sessions and production of dress code posters might help learners to understand the necessary preparation required for a job interview. A further useful learning experience might be to hold interviews at an employer’s office, requiring learners to undertake necessary planning such as planning transportation.

Production of a career development plan could be based on feedback from a job interview and from an interview with an appropriate careers service such as Connexions. Learners should be encouraged to undertake research into the job opportunities available to them locally and nationally. A visit to a job centre and/or the careers office of a local university may be beneficial in helping them to understand the opportunities available, allowing them to develop an appropriate plan.



58



Introduction This is a practical unit where learners will liaise with employers to learn about the roles and functions within organisations, practise applying for a job and produce a career plan.

Learning aim A: Know about job roles and functional areas in business

Assignment 1: Job Roles and Functions in Business Scenario: You are working for a recruitment consultancy. You have been given the task of producing information for potential employees. To do this, you will need to investigate roles and functional areas in two contrasting businesses with different organisational structures. You will need to describe the responsibilities of two job roles and explain the purpose of the different functional areas, comparing these and analysing the impact of the organisational structure on the job roles and functional areas. Your work must include reference to examples of real businesses.

● You could start with a discussion of the theory of job roles and functional areas with your learners. Organising role play or simulation exercises in class might help learners to understand the basic concepts and should be consolidated with note writing exercises so that learners have material that can be used to prepare their assignments.

● To develop this you could organise visits to employers for your learners, or talks by guest speakers from two or more contrasting companies. For example, you might invite a supermarket manager to discuss the functional structure of their organisation, with learners being encouraged to ask questions about how they utilise different job roles. A local manufacturing firm might provide a useful contrast with a range of different functional areas and job roles to discuss. Again, learners should be prepared to ask questions about the specific activities of each department.

● Your learners could then produce an organisational chart highlighting the roles and functions for each of the two organisations. Learners should be encouraged to include notes highlighting the responsibilities of staff at each level of the hierarchy. Organising a whole group discussion about the different staff in the hierarchy might be a useful activity to support this task.

● Next, they could interview different members of staff, write up the profiles and use them as the basis for journalistic writing, for example in the style of an in-house company magazine. You should guide learners to include relevant details relating to the tasks carried out by staff from different functional areas, and information relating to their job roles, such as lines of reporting and accountabilities.

● Your learners could then write case studies highlighting the achievements of particular functional areas. You might encourage them to include relevant details such as collaboration with other areas (e.g. marketing, working with finance to control costs, operations, working with HR to identify staff who might deserve promotions) and contributions to the achievement of aims and objectives.



59


Learning aim B: Produce documentation for specific job roles

Assignment 2: Recruitment and Job Application Scenario: For this assignment, you will take on two roles. In the first role, you are working in the human resources department of a business where you are responsible for preparing recruitment documentation. This will include producing a detailed job description and person specification to advertise for a specific job vacancy. In the second role, you will select and apply for a specific role. You will need to produce a curriculum vitae (CV), letter of application and completed application form to apply for a suitable job role. You will also prepare for and participate in an interview for the job vacancy you have applied for.

● Your learners could produce a flow chart, highlighting the stages of the recruitment process and the different documents required at each stage. They could then produce a job description and person specification.

● This could be followed by group critiques of different employment documents. Learners could compare completed application forms and CVs to the person specification and job description for a given job. For example, you could hold a workshop on completing a job application form and preparing a CV, based on your earlier investigations.

● Your learners could then apply for a given job and undertake a job interview, followed by a post interview debrief for each of your learners. You could introduce the mock interview process to your learners. Consider the option of recording interviews for playback and learner response. Then set up a panel consisting of yourself and a small group of local employers, school governors or staff from the teaching team. Brief your interviewers on types of questions to be used, and provide them with notes. Alternatively, your local Education Business Partnership office might be able to organise a panel of interviewers from local businesses for a small fee, making the exercise more realistic.

● Arrange individual interviews with your learners, at allotted times. Give them a letter asking them to the interview, explaining what they need to bring, how long the interview will last, and asking them if they consent to it being filmed. Arrange for observation forms to be used in interview. Then book an appropriate room, and interview each learner.

Learning aim C: Demonstrate interview skills and plan career development

Assignment 3: Career Development Scenario: Having thought about your future career and plans, you will create a career development plan and keep this updated, for example after the interview.

● Your learners could collect information on different careers using sources such as libraries, job centres and Connexions. They should identify a specific career path that they are interested in and produce a plan showing how they would develop in this career. Preparation of an appropriate template for learners to complete might be useful. A good starting point might be to prepare an exemplar career development plan that could be discussed. This would also allow learners to self assess their own plan against the exemplar.

● Next, your learners could highlight relevant milestones, such as qualifications and experience in different jobs – paid and/or voluntary. Learners could be encouraged to look at different routes into specific careers, for example comparing the apprenticeship route and degree route into accountancy. Thought could be given to the skills and experiences that would be needed in each case. A self assessment skills audit exercise might be useful in helping learners make these decisions. Alternatively, interviews with a careers officer might be helpful.

● Your learners could then consider the appropriateness of the plans, based on their interview feedback.



60




Resources Textbooks



Websites

www.bized.co.uk A website containing theory notes and case studies which are relevant to this unit.

www.businessstudiesonline.co.uk A website containing theory notes and interactive games which are relevant to this unit.

www.cipd.co.uk The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development website. It contains factsheets on the recruitment process and other related matters.

www.thetimes100.co.uk This site has a bank of case studies that could be used as a context for activities for this unit. The site also has a selection of theory notes aimed at learners.

UNIT 9: PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING


61


Delivery guidance


This unit provides you with an opportunity to help learners understand the role of marketing in businesses.

The unit is externally assessed using a paper-based test. A mixture of question styles will be used, including objective questions and short- and extended-answer questions. All questions will be compulsory. The test is set and marked by Edexcel, lasts 1 hour and 30 minutes, and contains 50 marks.

You can prepare learners for their test by encouraging them to analyse case studies of a range of businesses. Learners should be familiar with a range of businesses operating in different markets.

It is important to help learners develop their ability to analyse case study material as this will form an important part of their test. Practice activities in class will help learners gain confidence with this approach.


Learning aim A considers how marketing fits into different types of business. You should make sure that learners are given the opportunity to examine a range of different aspects of marketing practice. For example, alongside the commercial activities of companies manufacturing popular consumer goods like games consoles, you might encourage learners to look at the marketing activities of the manufacturers of capital goods and health awareness campaigns by charities such as Cancer Research UK to give an idea of the full range of marketing activities used in different types of organisation.

Learners need to explore the significance of branding, developing an understanding of the significance of the development of a unique brand by different businesses.

For learning aim B, you should encourage your learners to conduct primary and secondary market research and to analyse their findings. You should help learners to interpret their research, using it to conduct different types of situational analysis. This could be used as the basis for presentations to other learners or to local businesses. You should consider inviting local businesses from different types of market (e.g. B2B and B2C, mass and niche market) to see the presentations of research and offer learners feedback on how useful their findings are in making marketing decisions. Membership of a local chamber of commerce might be useful in developing appropriate business links to support this unit; alternatively a local Education Business Partnership office might be able to arrange an audience of local businesses for a small fee.

For learning aim C, learners could propose a marketing mix based on the needs of a local business, for example, when launching a new product. This would allow them to learn actively about how the marketing mix is used by businesses to plan their marketing activities. For example, learners might identify a gap in the market for a particular product or service.

In order to cover the full scope of the unit, learners need to examine case studies of marketing activity by different businesses, particularly the way in which the marketing mix is influenced by different factors. Newspaper articles could be simplified into mini case studies, for example, the response of Nintendo to weak consumer demand for the 3DS console might provide a good opportunity to consider the appropriateness of different pricing strategies, but care must be taken to avoid leaving learners focusing on the context at the expense of the theory.



62

Getting started This provides you with a starting place for one way of delivering the unit. Activities are provided in preparation for the external assessment


Introduction You could introduce this unit to your learners by outlining the form of external assessment and explaining that they will need to apply their knowledge of marketing to a range of case study examples.

Learning aim A: Explore the role of marketing within businesses

● Begin by exploring the different types of market with learners. They could make posters or flash cards highlighting the different types of market and the significance of each.

● Case studies or guest speakers might be helpful to learners as they develop their understanding of different types of markets. You might, for example, want to encourage your group to compare mass-market products with niche market alternatives. This could be achieved by assigning a specific industry to a group of learners, asking them to research assigned products and services within that industry, and this research could then be presented back to the whole group. For activities such as this you could give learners a note-taking frame to help them capture revision notes from the activity. Alternatively you might record the presentations and upload footage to your centre's Virtual Learning Environment for future reference.

● Learners should explore the contribution of marketing to the achievement of corporate objectives. This could be achieved through sorting games where learners could match different marketing activities to statements of corporate objectives. Learners could present their justifications for these decisions to their group as the basis of whole-group discussion.

● You might collect a range of adverts for different products in different types of markets and allocate different examples to groups of learners. Groups could prepare a presentation outlining the different features that make each advert distinctive. Learners could then consider whether other marketing activities would benefit that particular business and make recommendations.

Learning aim B: Consider how businesses use market research to make marketing decisions

● This learning aim is particularly well suited to practical activities. Direct learners to collect research, individually or in groups. You could assign learners different methods of research and ask them to gather data on a specific industry or relevant local business.

● Guide learners to present the findings of their research to the whole group and to comment on the significance of their findings.

● Prepare examples of internal data such as sales figures for different periods of time – for example, summer compared to Christmas. This would allow learners to analyse this data and make judgements based on the data, such as what would be the best market to enter.

● Provide carefully selected newspaper and magazine articles to learners as the basis for a SWOT (Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Strengths) or PESTLE (Political/Economic/Sociological/Technological/Legal/Environmental) analysis based on a specific business. You might want to take this information from electronic versions of these sites so that it can be simplified for your learners.



63

Unit 9: Principles of Marketing ● Give learners decision-making activities where they match products to different,

defined groups of potential customers, making judgements about the suitability of specific products for some customers and not others. This could be set up as a card-sorting activity where learners pair images of products with images of customers and then give a written or verbal rationale for their decision.

● Identify market trends by focusing on a specific market. You could provide learners with data on sales levels and the number of branches of specific businesses. This would allow learners to identify patterns and comment on the underlying reasons. For example, with the video games market you could give sales data for physical retailers, online retailers and mobile phone apps. This would give learners the chance to spot different trends.

● Links with a local university would be a good source of data – liaison officers in a business school or library might be able to provide you with access to material such as Mintel reports. Although this may be too much for level 2 learners in its original form, edited versions of these reports might be a useful basis for analytical activities.

Learning aim C: Explore the use of the marketing mix

● For this learning aim, learners will need to be familiar with each of the sections of the marketing mix and factors that influence it.

● Assign different product ranges to groups of learners and ask them to analyse the marketing mix for these products. You could produce an example of this. Apple might make a good case study with a range of products at different life cycle stages.

● The product ranges assigned to learners should allow the whole group to watch each presentation and make notes that cover the full range of content in the specification. For example, learners should be familiar with the full range of pricing strategies.

● Help learners to understand the different influences on the marketing mix, using carefully selected case studies. For example, material on childhood obesity might be used to highlight the need to change products such as clothes or toys to reflect changing body sizes. This might be a good opportunity for lively whole-group debates about the ethics of some business activity and the extent to which ethics can or even should affect the marketing mix of a business.

Preparing for the test

● The 1 hour and 30 minutes test consists of objective questions and short- and extended-answer questions. The maximum mark for the paper is 50.

● The paper will contain a mixture of questions aimed at level 1 Pass, level 2 Pass, level 2 Merit and level 2 Distinction. Tests will include a mixture of theoretical questions and questions which are set in the context of a specific business. All questions are compulsory.

● The paper will cover all aspects of the specification over a number of test series and is designed to enable learners to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the unit content.

● Encourage learners to analyse case studies of a range of businesses operating in different markets. Develop learners’ ability to analyse case study material as this will form an important part of their test.

● It is important that learners are prepared thoroughly for this test. There are plenty of resources available to help with preparation, such as sample papers and mark schemes and teacher support materials for test-type questions.

● It will be useful for learners to practise completing answers in the class environment to reinforce learning and develop test technique. You should ensure that learners know the meanings of the command words commonly used in the paper so they are



64

Unit 9: Principles of Marketing able to use the time available effectively. You could set test-style questions for homework on a regular basis as each part of the specification is covered, as further useful practice. Alternatively, test-style questions could be used as starter or plenary activities with learners peer-assessing one another’s responses.

● You should set aside time for final revision for the test. It would be useful for your learners to complete a past test paper, or sample test paper, before they sit the live test so they are fully aware of what they will need to do in test conditions. This experience will also give them the opportunity to practise using their time effectively and develop their ability to write well-structured responses.

Details of links to other BTEC units, BTEC qualifications and links to other relevant units/qualifications BTEC Firsts in Business:





BTEC Level 3 Certificate/Subsidiary Diploma/Diploma/Extended Diploma in Business (QCF):

● Unit 3: Introduction to Marketing

● Unit 9: Creative Product Promotion

● Unit 10: Market Research in Business

● Unit 11: Relationship Marketing

● Unit 12: Internet Marketing in Business

● Unit 30: Visual Merchandising in Retail

● Unit 39: International Business

Resources Textbooks


Bentley, P., Carysforth, C., Chandler-Corris, L., Glencross, K. and Nield, M., BTEC First Level 2 Business, Pearson, 2012 (ISBN 978-1-446-90136-6) A student book for level 2 that includes content to support learning on this unit.

Marketing Pocket Book 2009, World Advertising Research Center (WARC), 2009 (978-1841162102) An invaluable set of data including costs of advertising in different media.



65

Journals

Business Review (Philip Allan)

Teaching Business and Economics (EBEA) Both journals contain topical case studies, theory notes and advice on how to improve the quality of work.

Marketing Week The latest news from the marketing sector; useful to see examples of current practice in different industries.

Websites




66

UNIT 10: USING BUSINESS DOCUMENTATION


67

Unit 10: Using Business Documentation

Delivery guidance


This unit provides many opportunities for your learners to develop the written communication skills they will be expected to use in a workplace setting. Developing good written communication skills will help learners to function more effectively both in their studies and eventually in their chosen role at work. Learners will need to investigate the types of documents used in business then prepare a range of written documents for both internal and external purposes.

Effective written communication has an impact on every aspect of successful business organisations. Your learners would benefit from links with local businesses that may be willing to supply copies of documentation used in real situations, adding currency and vocational realism. You should encourage learners to draw on their own experiences from work placements and part-time employment.


You could start with a discussion of different types of written documents and show examples of these.

For learning aim A, learners could list three recent written communications they have sent and then identify the purpose of each of these, comparing their list with a partner.

You could provide activities where learners identify the formality of the communication to the message being conveyed. Visits to local businesses to investigate their written communications, the purpose of the communications, and the business context in which they are used would provide useful insights into the implications for a business of poor or inaccurate written communications. Written documentation could be: a simple memo or note conveying a telephone message; a set of documents that track an order from being placed to the final invoice; catalogues; flyers or brochures; letters; faxes and emails; in-depth company reports; or financial planning tools. Each document is important in its own right, and this aspect can be developed by providing learners with the opportunity to examine different documents and discuss the implications of poor presentation, incorrect information or errors in grammar and text. For example, a business letter often presents the first impression of the business to a customer and it is important to create a positive image. A document that is poorly laid out and full of jargon or spelling mistakes will appear unprofessional.

For learning aim B, when planning and selecting appropriate business documents, you could give input on how different types of audience affect the choice of method and content of written communications, and provide activities where learners match the type of audience to the most appropriate method. You could lead discussions on the types of information that are sensitive, and when audits are carried out. There are many occasions when information must be easy to understand, and activities involving the Fog Index or Crystal Mark will help learners look at ways to improve written communications.

For learning aim C, in order for learners to produce accurate and well-presented business documents, you will need to provide some formal input on the range of related documents that can be used and show the steps involved in how each can be formatted. Sample documents are essential to show the layout of different



68

documents and also how the same document (e.g. purchase orders or invoices) can vary without altering the function that they serve.

You could set a series of simulated tasks to give learners the opportunity to choose which documents might be suitable. Practice in developing written documentation will allow the learner an opportunity to explore the need to think carefully about the nature of the work being produced, who its intended audience is and to question whether it is fit for the purpose for which it was intended.



69

Getting started

This provides you with a starting point for one way of delivering the unit, based around the suggested assignments in the specification.


Introduction You could ask learners to list as many written business documents they can think of, then compare their lists with other group members, in readiness for considering audience, purpose and formats for the different kinds of documents.

Learning aim A: Know the purpose of written communication in business contexts

Learning aim B: Plan and select appropriate business documents to communicate in different business contexts

Assignment 1: Which Document? Scenario: You are working for a consultancy business and have been asked by your manager to advise an entrepreneur who is setting up a new business on the purposes and types of written business communications. To do this, you will need to examine the purpose of four different documents used by another business to give as an example for the entrepreneur. You will need to consider how the business context influences the format of document used, and the factors to consider when planning and selecting appropriate business documents in four different business contexts to meet the needs of different audiences. To achieve the Merit and Distinction criteria, you will need to examine further the need for confidentiality and audit requirements when producing business documents.

● You could start by leading a discussion with learners on the purpose of communication in business then examining the purpose of different documents used in a selected business, which could be one previously visited. Working in two groups, one group could discuss the documents available for external communication, and the other group the documents for internal communication, then you could show examples of these. It might be useful to show two contrasting emails (for example, one sent internally between colleagues arranging a meeting and one for an external customer) and compare the etiquette, tone and language used. Learners could prepare a presentation depicting the type of document, its purpose, the context in which it would be used and the most appropriate format for that context. You could then develop this by giving an activity for learners to compare the purpose of at least two formal and two informal communications in different business contexts. Group discussions could focus on the effectiveness and suitability of written communication in business compared with other methods such as oral or electronic.

● Ask learners to examine the factors that need to be considered when planning and selecting the most appropriate documents in different business contexts. Activities to match the suitability of documents for the intended audience can help prepare for the assessment where learners need to demonstrate their understanding of how different methods of communication are suitable for different situations and audiences, including confidentiality and audit requirements.

● Individually, learners should prepare a report on the methods and purpose of written communication in a selected business.



70


Learning aim C: Produce business documents for communication in a business

Assignment 2: Producing Documents Scenario: Continuing your work in the consultancy business, you will now produce examples of business documents the entrepreneur may use in their business. You will need to produce six accurate business documents of different types to support business tasks – three that can be used to support internal communication and three to support external communication – in the entrepreneur’s business. To achieve the Merit and Distinction criteria, you need to assess the factors that influenced the production of the documents and justify their suitability to meet the needs of the intended audience.

● To help develop the skills needed to produce business communications you could ask learners to choose the types of documents for specific purposes, then practise producing these. The documents must be accurate with correct spelling, punctuation and grammar, and the layout and format to meet accepted business conventions. You must provide plenty of opportunities for learners to prepare a variety of business documents and for vocational realism these could be themed or based on different subject matter. For example: a purchase order, letter and email all relating to the tracking of an order; letters and emails responding to customer complaints; and agendas and minutes relating to meetings.

● For the assessment, learners should individually produce three different documents for internal use and three documents for external use by a business. These documents should include dealing with a customer complaint, and responding to a technical enquiry. They must be accurate and there must be sufficient contrast in the documents to ensure they are different types; for example, they should not be all letters but could be a letter, report and memo. You need to make sure that learners have photocopied, printed or scanned the business documents produced for audit purposes.

● Lead a discussion on the reasons why a particular type of internal and external document was produced for the task, and the suitability of these documents to meet the needs of the intended audience above other methods.



71

Details of links to other BTEC units, BTEC qualifications and links to other relevant units/qualifications BTEC First in Business:





Resources Textbooks


Barker, A., Improve Your Communication Skills (2nd edition), Kogan Page, 2010 (ISBN 978-0-749-45911-6) Looks at communication skills in business contexts.


Websites

www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/WritingSkills.htm Tips on how to develop good writing skills.


72

UNIT 11: BUILDING SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS TEAMS


73

Unit 11: Building Successful Business Teams

Delivery guidance


In this unit you should ensure that you give plenty of opportunities for learners to undertake different team activities. You could show DVDs or video clips illustrating different behaviours and the impact this has on team cohesiveness. Learners should be positively encouraged to use their work experience or any part-time employment to enrich their experiences of both understanding the theory of effective teams as well as the practical teamworking aspects. You could also use simulation/role play, as well as analysis of case study material.

Learners should be able to apply their knowledge and understanding of teambuilding. In order to demonstrate this effectively they must have plenty of opportunities to show depth and breadth of knowledge then practise these skills in a range of team situations.


You could introduce this unit through learners undertaking one of the many team activities that are available for use in the classroom such as those viewed on YouTube, followed by a discussion on the benefits of team collaboration. Activities such as team challenges of building a tower or bridge from a limited amount of materials and then testing the strength of these will show how teamworking helps to work out problems. Some activities, such as desert island survival, require few resources and enable learners to develop rapport and be creative.

For learning aim A, your learners need to understand the differences between a group and a team, and the factors that contribute to an effective team. You could ask learners to list different types of team they have been a member of – such as in school or college, outside activities, hobbies etc. – and identify the purpose of the team. This could then be linked to the stages of team development and factors that make teams effective. To illustrate examples of effective and ineffective features of team activity, you could show clips from TV programmes such as The Apprentice, and use this to introduce learning aim B and the role of the team leader. You could provide input on different leadership styles and lead a group discussion on the personal qualities and attributes of effective leadership. Learners should also explore the characteristics and style of different team leaders (this could be through activities such as identifying the skills and traits of well-known leaders), and discuss how this contributed to the overall effectiveness of the team. It is important that you stress that an effective team needs to be a mix of capabilities and should not consist entirely of those with leadership skills. You could develop this theme with particular emphasis on theories of motivation and the well known Action-centred Leadership approach of John Adair, showing in circles the responsibilities of the leader in ensuring the satisfaction of task, team and individual needs. You could then direct learners to carry out activities positioning the circles from case studies or their own experiences.

Guest speakers could be used to explain how they prevent and diffuse conflict situations within teams, giving examples of different sources of conflict and lead discussions making suggestions on how these could be dealt with, e.g. a team member not taking a fair share of the workload. Learners could ask questions on



74

the occasions in the day-to-day activities of the team where a leadership role has been involved, and how this affected the team’s performance.

For learning aim C, you should ensure that learners have plenty of opportunities for working in teams/groups and activities can be given to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of teamwork, including following instructions, dealing with difficult people, and own contribution to the team objectives. At the end of a group activity learners could be asked to review how they performed and identify something they would like to do differently next time.

Learners should be encouraged to identify potential improvements in their own use of teamworking skills and techniques. Video clips can be used to show examples of good and bad team working skills.

Finally, reflecting on own practice is a skilled task and therefore learners must be given a range of opportunities to test out their own skills to help them to identify the key areas to review, and how they could evaluate the performance of the team and their own contribution.



75

Getting started This provides you with a starting point for one way of delivering the unit, based around the suggested assignments in the specification.


Introduction You could ask learners to work in pairs and list the types of teams they think would be in a particular business then compare their lists with other group members, in readiness for considering how teamworking can help a business achieve goals and how to work as an effective team.

Learning aim A: Investigate the importance of teams and teamworking

Learning aim B: Understand the role of the team leader

Assignment 1: What is a Team? Scenario: You have been asked by your manager to prepare training materials for a teambuilding training session. The materials you produce need to look at two effective business teams and consider what makes an effective team, the importance of team role theory and the stages of team development in making the team effective. You will also need to refer to the behaviours needed for successful teamwork, giving suitable examples.

● Learners will be carrying out a team activity and need to be familiar with the characteristics of effective teams, including trust, cooperation, agreeing objectives and dealing with any conflict situations. This topic could be introduced by learners drawing on their own experiences of working in teams at school or college, such as a sports team – what was good about it, what was bad. This will help learners in their investigation of two business teams that could be from the centre or a work placement. Learners need to describe the characteristics of the two teams and what makes them effective. Learners should then select one team and explain the stages of team development; evidence produced could be in a presentation or leaflet format.

● In a classroom environment learners should have plenty of opportunities to be able to practise teamworking activities through role plays, with each person taking a different ‘team role’. This can best be illustrated using Belbin’s Team Role theory model which shows that in order to achieve the task, a combination of team roles needs to be present, although a team member may display characteristics of more than one team role. To identify their preferred roles learners should find it interesting to undertake a Belbin Team Role Analysis, and this might prove useful when allocating tasks for the team activity. For assessment, learners will need to explain the importance of Belbin’s theory and apply this to the roles in the selected business team. Learners will need to describe a range of examples of behaviours needed for effective teamwork such as loyalty and supporting others, and these examples could be from their own experiences.

● Learners need to explore the characteristics and style of different team leaders, and this could be done through activities such as identifying the skills and traits of well-known leaders. It is important that you stress that an effective team needs to have a mix of capabilities and not consist entirely of those with leadership skills. Learners must then examine the role and responsibilities of the team leader in two contrasting business teams, then describe their attributes and qualities and explain the importance of their role and responsibilities. The contrasting teams could be a permanent and a temporary team. All the evidence for the above could be produced as a presentation, brochure or leaflet.



76


Learning aim C: Use skills to demonstrate effective teamworking

Assignment 2: Effective Teamworking Scenario: You will be participating in real teamworking activities. These may be completed while on a work placement, in a part-time job or in team activities at your centre. You will need to demonstrate effective teamworking skills to contribute to meeting the objectives of a business team, including taking responsibility for completing your own work. You will then need to assess how well your team performed in meeting its objectives.

● It is important that learners have plenty of opportunities for working in teams and/or groups, agreeing objectives and using teamworking skills to achieve them. There are different ways of delivering the content for learning aim C, including team challenges with follow-up analysis and evaluation, video clips, simulation/role play, reflection on learners’ own experiences and analysis of case study material.

● You could direct learners to build on their knowledge of Belbin’s team roles to explore the characteristics of different team members and identify their own qualities and skills or traits in actual team situations.

● You should encourage learners to keep records of their teamworking experiences, such as diaries or logs, to help them reflect on their own performance. Evidence will also include witness observation reports confirming how assessment criteria have been achieved, from you or an experienced witness.


● Unit 1: Enterprise in the Business World ● Unit 4: Principles of Customer Service ● Unit 5: Sales and Personal Selling ● Unit 7: Providing Business Support

Resources Textbooks


Adair, J., Effective Teambuilding: How to Make a Winning Team (revised edition), Pan, 2009 (ISBN 978-0-330-50423-2) Looks at how to make teams successful. Belbin, M., Team Roles at Work (2nd edition), Butterworth-Heinemann, 2010 (ISBN 978-1-856-17800-6) How to apply the theory into work situations. Marrin, J., Leadership for Dummies (UK edition), John Wiley & Sons, 2011 (ISBN 978-0-470-97211-3) Provides practical tips and skill-building exercises.



77

Websites www.belbin.com Website of Dr Meredith Belbin, on team roles with resources and downloads. www.bized.co.uk Business education website including learning materials and quizzes. www.businessballs.com Free materials, articles and ideas for team roles and leadership.


78

UNIT 12: INTRODUCING LAW AND CONSUMER RIGHTS


79

Unit 12: Introducing Law and Consumer Rights

Delivery guidance


This unit introduces learners to the way the law is administered, the people who are involved in this process, and the consumer rights and remedies that prevail in certain situations. It can be linked to Unit 1: Enterprise in the Business World because entrepreneurs should be aware of their own legal rights as sellers of goods or services as well as the rights of their customers. On that basis, some of the scenarios could be developed with the learners’ own prospective enterprises in mind.

Taking a practical approach will make the topic more accessible and interesting to learners, and there are many ways of doing this:

● Many learners may have seen dramatised court cases on television or heard about court cases in the news. It is helpful to build on any knowledge learners already have and use this as a basis to identify the type of courts there are, where they are situated in their locality, people who work in the legal profession and what they do.

● Visiting speakers will help bring this unit to life. At Magistrates in the Community (see websites at end of this unit, page 83), you can request a visit from a local magistrate to explain their work. As a qualified solicitor or barrister, a judge will be able to give more than one perspective and will have broader experience. Colleagues may have been jurors – or you may have been one yourself. Local solicitors may be willing to visit, not just to talk about their role but also to answer questions on points of law related to learning aims B and C, or to help provide feedback for a presentation. It is advisable to assist learners in planning appropriate questions for visiting speakers that will help to develop their knowledge. Questions should be sent to your speaker in advance.

● Visits to open courts should be selected with care. A complex case that is constantly being adjourned could bore or intimidate learners. It is useful to follow up visits with a discussion with learners about the process and the role of those involved.


For learning aim A, a useful first step would be for learners to identify the main court buildings in their locality. The reasons why people go to court can be divided into cases that would be heard in a criminal or civil court. This can be consolidated with a diagram showing the structure of the court system to put the local courts into their true context.

Visiting speakers, as suggested above, should ideally include a representative from Trading Standards and the Citizens Advice Bureau. Both have excellent websites. Television programmes also cover the work of Trading Standards and some interesting video clips can be found on YouTube.

Learning aim B focuses on contracts, negligence and how legislation protects consumers. Learners’ own experiences as buyers can lead to an investigation of the policies that local shops and stores have in relation to returned goods. What notices are posted by the tills or on receipts? Learners could undertake an investigation to



80

find out and compare these to identify which stores do the minimum, before learning about specific legislation to protect consumers.

This can then be linked with learning aim C, as learners identify situations where consumers have a legal claim (or not), and the remedies available to them. These should help learners to understand the importance of recent case law in developing consumer protection.

For example, case studies about second-hand car sales from dealerships, focusing on the requirements the Sale of Goods Act (as amended) could be used to show that the cars sold must be of satisfactory quality for a reasonable period of time, bearing in mind price and age. Case law relevant to the transaction and the actions of the buyer and seller in a dispute could include Bernstein v Palmerston Motors 1987. In this case, it was deemed that the supplier should have been given reasonable chance on at least three occasions to put right the faults for which the customer was rejecting the car, and that they should have failed to do so. In another case, Rogers v Parish 1987, it was deemed that there was a limit of a six-months’ timeframe in which to reject a car and get a full refund.

A similar scenario can be developed to illustrate the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs), for example, when a salesman misleads the buyer by not being honest about the condition of the car. Relevant recent case law would be Regina (House of Cars) v Derby Car and Van Contacts Ltd 2012 where cars were sold pre-registered so that the dealer could take advantage of fleet discounts. However, this meant that the car was still registered to the dealer rather than to the customer for a period of up to six months, which might prejudice any insurance claim made by the customer.

Learners can research these, and other cases, online. You can direct them to the Honest John website Frequently Asked Questions page (www.honestjohn.co.uk) to investigate consumer rights for car buyers in more detail and also to read about further case law that applies to car sales. This type of structured research exercise is usually preferable at this level to learners searching through more complex legal databases trying to find relevant case law. Case studies should ideally cover a variety of situations where consumers may have a legal claim and the different remedies available, such as damages, termination and rescission.

Towards the end of the course, you could use the practical scenarios suggested in the ‘Getting started’ section, role plays and quizzes. Simplified discussions will also keep learners actively interested in this unit. For example, when teaching about fraud and theft, learners could debate the case of A retailer v Ms B and Ms K 2012 (for details see ‘Civil recovery’ claim issued by retailer defeated in court, Citizens Advice Bureau, www.adviceguide.org.uk). This was the first case to go to trial where shoplifters were legally represented by solicitors and the judgement meant that retailers must now prove how much they have lost financially when they calculate a civil recovery demand. This case also illustrates the role of the Citizens Advice Bureau who arranged for the case to be brought to court, given the excess fees being levied on individuals accused of shop lifting. Details about this case can also be found at www.bateswells.co.uk/News/Detail.aspx?NewsID=275&Location=2&ID=3.

To put the case into perspective, the Retail Fraud Study figures show that between May 2011 and May 2012, store theft rose by 10 per cent and shoplifting increased by 3 per cent, costing retailers £3.4 billion. An interesting debate can be held as to whether the judgement is fair to retailers, and whether it could actually encourage an increase in shoplifting in the future.



81

Getting started



Introduction Learners will know that the law affects everyone who buys goods and services, and the businesses that sell them. You could prepare some simple scenarios and ask learners to suggest the outcome – for example, buying faulty goods in a sale, hiring a workman who is incompetent and so on – leading to the importance of consumer protection legislation. You could then establish what learners know about criminal and civil law, and cases such as someone sent to jail for sending a racist tweet or a robbery reported on TV. Learners may be aware of ‘no win, no fee’ personal injury claims or someone who has made an insurance claim after an accident. What happened next? How were the offenders punished? Examples discussed can be divided into those that are heard in a civil court and those dealt with in a criminal court. You could ask learners if they know where their local courts are situated.

Learning aim A: Investigate civil and criminal law and their courts and personnel

Assignment 1: Who? What? Why? Scenario: You will be given scenarios of both civil and criminal disputes. These may be real cases or hypothetical situations. You need to determine which courts will deal with the situations and why, who the people involved in the court hearings will be and why, together with the role they will play. You will need to assess your findings by comparing the process of law and use of courts in civil and criminal cases, and the importance of using magistrates and juries in criminal trials. Finally, you need to evaluate the process and personnel used in a real court case.

● Learners could use press clippings that illustrate different cases to identify which court would be involved, and the people who would be involved.

● Scenarios can be used to provide other examples so that learners can identify the process that would be followed. For example, advice to a friend who is considering taking a case to the small claims court.

● A debate on the role of juries today and a talk by a visiting magistrate would be ideal preparation before learners write an assessment of the importance of both parties.

● Learners who have visited a civil or criminal court to watch a case could conclude this with a summary that evaluates the process and the personnel involved.



82


Learning aim B: Understand the law relating to consumers and their protection

Learning aim C: Apply appropriate legal remedies available to buyers and sellers

Assignment 2: Protecting Consumers Scenario: You will be given scenarios involving contract, negligence and consumer protection legislation disputes. You will need to explain and apply the law, assess and evaluate the protection available, and then determine the remedies and redress available within the law. Finally, you will need to compare the effectiveness of the remedies and evaluate, using current case law examples, how effective the law is in protecting consumers.

● Scenarios, case studies and role plays to represent various appropriate situations will provide useful practice for the assessment. The scenarios should cover contract, negligence and the consumer protection legislation listed in the specification, so that learners become familiar with identifying and applying the law to different cases.

● When they address legal problems, learners should be encouraged to support their assertions with legal precedents. While older cases may set the precedent, where possible learners should be encouraged to undertake their own research to see how this has been being applied or reaffirmed in recent case law.

● Learners should be encouraged to think about what remedy is best for a particular scenario. Different options should be discussed in each case (for example, rejection and money back/repair or replacement/rescission). Towards the end of the course, and as practice for the assessment, learners could consider problems in ‘legal teams’, carry out research and present their cases to an expert who can judge their performance and provide useful feedback about the appropriateness of the suggested remedy.

Details of links to other BTEC units, BTEC qualifications and links to other relevant units/qualifications BTEC First in Business:





● Unit 16: Enhancing the Customer Experience




83

Resources Textbooks


Bentley, P., Carysforth, C., Chandler-Corris, L., Glencross, K. and Nield, M., BTEC First Level 2 Business, Pearson, 2012 (ISBN 978-1-446-90136-6) Covers the latest specification, including Unit 12: Introducing Law and Consumer Rights.

Carysforth, C., Neild, M. and Richards, C., BTEC First Business Level 2, Pearson, 2010 (ISBN 978-1-846-90620-6) In Unit 13: Consumer Rights of this book, there is additional information about certain legal aspects.

Martin, J., OCR Law for AS (2nd edition), Hodder Education, 2011 (ISBN 978-1-444-12236-7) Focuses on the OCR syllabus, but contains useful information about the judiciary, the legal profession, lay magistrates and juries.

Martin, J. and Lanser, D., AQA Law for AS, Nelson Thornes, 2010 (ISBN 978-1-444-11049-4) Focuses on the AQA syllabus and includes useful chapters on the difference between civil and criminal courts, the legal profession, negligence and the law of contract, with key cases covered.

Tillson, J., Consumer and Commercial Law, Longman/Pearson, 2011 (ISBN 978-1-408-22613-1) Provides many additional useful examples of key cases.

Journals

New Law Journal, Journal of Business Law and broadsheet newspapers These are all useful to keep abreast of new legal developments (not just consumer law).

Which? Consumer magazine that contains information about consumer issues.

Videos

http://moj.coionline.tv/videos/jurorvideo/video Follow ‘Related Searches’ to access a video for jurors that provides useful background information for learners.

Websites

http://hmctscourtfinder.justice.gov.uk/HMCTS Useful for finding courts in your area.

www.magistrates-association.org.uk Use Magistrates in the Community to request a visit from a local magistrate.

www.which.co.uk For information on recent consumer issues.

www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/law For up-to-date information and cases. This site includes a Student Law area.



84

www.citizensadvice.org.uk For fact sheets on consumer law.

www.tradingstandards.gov.uk For fact sheets and information on the role of trading standards.

www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog For general information and recent consumer issues and scenarios.

www.compactlaw.co.uk/free-legal-information/consumer-law.html Provides information and advice for consumers.

www.bis.gov.uk/policies/by/themes/consumer%20issues~ Up-to-date information about government policies and proposals relating to consumer issues.

www.lawtel.com, www.lexisnexis.co.uk www.westlaw.co.uk Subscription websites with legal databases and regular updates on case law.

www.bailii.org Provides a free searchable database of cases and recent decisions.

UNIT 13: FINANCIAL PLANNING AND FORECASTING


85

Unit 13: Financial Planning and Forecasting

Delivery guidance


This unit gives learners an insight into three major tools used in business to monitor and control the financial aspects of an enterprise: breakeven analysis, cash flow forecasting and monitoring, and budgetary control. Although it is inevitable that some arithmetical work is required, you should encourage learners to look beyond the numbers to understand their implications.

A fundamental feature of how this unit should be delivered is that it builds on topics covered in Unit 2: Finance for Business. The specification stipulates that Unit 2 must be studied before Unit 13 is attempted. This means that the introduction of each of the three learning aims of Unit 13 must include refresher activities to remind learners of what they have already covered in Unit 2.

It is advisable to involve learners in practical activities as much as possible when delivering this unit. It is also helpful for learners to understand from the outset the potential problems for a business owner who does not plan carefully, or understand how to prepare a cash flow forecast or budget. As well as numerical activities, such as compiling a cash flow forecast, learners could also act as consultants to a potential business owner to advise on the importance of planning, forecasting and budgeting. Later they could work in teams to analyse a cash flow forecast and/or budget for a small business, and suggest actions that should be taken to improve future finances.

Speakers can help to bring this unit to life, for example, guest speakers from SMEs (small and medium enterprises), to say how they approach a particular topic or to recount their own experiences. The local Chamber of Commerce may be able to suggest a business adviser or consultant who can talk to the class about some of the common problems experienced by small businesses, and how financial planning and forecasting can help them. You can also encourage learners to visit high street banks to see what literature is available on financial planning in business, as well as visiting their websites. Banks or local accountancy practices may also be willing to provide guest speakers on topics such as cash flow forecasting and budgeting.

You will need to provide activities for each of the three learning aims, starting with simple examples and progressively moving to the more complex. Note that the unit specification suggests that the same business scenario is used for both breakeven and cash flow assessments. This is optional and some teachers may decide to keep the two sections separate. You may also decide to continue this scenario for budgeting but should note that you will also have to produce data on a contrasting business. (See Assessment information in the ‘Getting started’ section.)


Learning aim A relates to breakeven analysis. As well as setting learners numerical activities, you could also collect examples from newspapers about businesses that are starting up – or established businesses that are attempting to expand by starting up a new venture. These could lead to group discussions on how much activity (goods, customers, sales revenue and so on) a business would have to produce to break even. For successful businesses, the group discussions could be directed to various facets of breakeven analysis, such as margin of safety or the problems involved in forecasting sales revenue with reasonable accuracy.

Although all businesses can benefit from calculating how many units, hours of work or items must be provided to break even, the best business scenarios for learners are



86

usually those that involve producing a standard item that sells at the same price, from umbrellas to denim jeans, a child’s toy or even a mobile phone app. An alternative is a business that offers a service at a specific price, such as a small bed and breakfast hotel or a cattery. Although breakeven can be calculated using a formula, many of the associated points are better illustrated using the graphical method, for example, the profit area. To achieve this unit, learners must be able to use both methods to calculate the breakeven point and carry out analysis. This must also include analysing the effect of changing costs and prices on the business.

Learning aim B covers cash flow. Learners need to practise using given data to produce a cash flow forecast showing monthly information for a year. They can then start to analyse the information, mainly looking for times when there is a large surplus closing balance and also the reverse – a large deficit. You need to provide activities so that extremes of situations are illustrated. Often a simple business decision, such as to spend more on advertising, can have serious consequences if this coincides with late payments from customers. The importance of chasing up overdue payments – as well as monitoring expenditure – must be emphasised and the latter will also provide a natural introduction to budgeting.

Learners must be introduced to the various aspects that affect cash flow forecasting, such as buying and selling goods on credit, and the seasonal fluctuations experienced by businesses such as firework manufacturers and farmers. In addition, example cash flow statements should also illustrate: small negative and positive final balances; large negative and positive final balances; regular and irregular income items; and regular and irregular expenditure items. Learners can be divided into groups to carry out analysis and report back on their findings.

Learning aim C relates to budgets and budgetary control. You should first remind learners about the basics of budgeting – setting targets, measuring performance, identifying variances and taking managerial action based on the variance analysis. After this, you should point out the limitations of profit and loss accounts and balance sheets – that they are historical and only show problems after they have occurred. Budgets are forward looking and aim to identify problems quickly so that the business owner is in control.

You could then introduce the idea of how budgets are controlled, looking at the management systems that businesses put in place. It would be particularly beneficial for learners to compare the systems in place in businesses of different size (for example, a sole trader versus a multinational) to give them an understanding of the complexity of maintaining financial control across a business.

Show learners examples of budgets with monthly planned expenditure figures provided against each item. A good one to start with would be a production department budget since it would include several items: materials, labour, power and so on. Then you could give actual expenditure figures for a month and ask the learners to add them to the budget pro forma. The figures should be designed to produce some large/small positive/negative variances. Once the learners have calculated the variances, you could ask them to say what (if any) action needs to be taken about the variances. Reinforce this by learners working out variances for themselves and deciding what form of managerial action could be needed.

Once the basics are established, learners could work in small groups to identify the structure of the different types of budget listed in the unit specification (sales, production and so on). They should also understand how budgets are likely to vary between contrasting businesses, such as manufacturing and retail, as this will be a feature of their assessment. However, if learners also produce budgets using the analyses and data from learning aims A and B, it will also consolidate earlier knowledge. This will demonstrate how all the financial forecasting tools complement each other when used correctly. Finally, using the information gleaned from the practical activities, you could ask the learners to produce a report based on their analysis, which includes an overview of the usefulness of budgets to a business.



87

Getting started


Unit 13: Financial Planning and Forecasting

Introduction You could start by dividing learners into two groups and holding a quiz to revise Unit 2, which must have been studied before Unit 13. Each group could devise 10 questions to ask the other group, or you could be the question master. If some time has elapsed since studying Unit 2, then summary headings/handouts could be issued to help trigger recall. Then outline that in Unit 13 they will learn about breakeven analysis and cash flow forecasting in more detail, and be introduced to the concepts of budgets and budgetary control. Refer to topical news items about businesses that have struggled in these areas so that learners see the relevance of learning to the business world.

Learning aim A: Demonstrate the use of breakeven analysis in business

Learning aim B: Demonstrate the use of cash flow forecasting in business

Assignment 1: Financial Planning for a Business Scenario: You will be given a set of data and asked to complete a breakeven analysis and cash flow forecast for a selected business. You need to examine the information generated to determine the potential impact on the business. The breakeven will have to be calculated from the data given and plotted accurately on an annotated graph. You will then examine how the business can use the breakeven analysis in a given situation. You will also prepare an annual cash flow forecast for a given business from data given, and consider the implications of regular and irregular inflows and outflows for the business.

Part 1: Breakeven ● Learners should gain practice in calculating breakeven by using the formula and also

by producing a chart for a variety of businesses that produce a standard item, such as a mobile phone holder or child’s toy, or offer a standard service. They must be able to label all the features clearly and interpret the charts by answering ‘what if’ questions, such as: ‘What would happen if the fixed cost figure rose by “X” amount?’ ‘What would happen if an important customer insisted that the price paid was reduced by 20 per cent?’

● Your learners could work in groups to produce a presentation on the usefulness of breakeven analysis, which is to be given to the owner of a small business. Encourage learners to suggest specific situations where a breakeven could be used, for example, spending money upgrading a production machine or building an extension.

● A variety of scenarios can be discussed in class, together, with appropriate data, that will affect the cost and revenue data. Some situations should be beneficial, such as higher productivity, an opportunity to increase prices or a reduction in costs. Others should be more problematic, such as a threat from a competitor, which could result in having to offer lower prices, an increase in costs or the problem of taking on additional staff to meet a new order.

● Learners must be able to evaluate the importance of breakeven analysis to a selected business. The consequences of not undertaking this type of analysis can be discussed in advance of the assessment and the implications for changes in costs and revenue for a business owner who fails to carry out such calculations. Businesses that have experienced financial difficulties in the local area may provide useful examples of the problems that occur when costs are higher than revenue.



88

Unit 13: Financial Planning and Forecasting Part 2: Cash flow ● The difficulties of managing costs and revenue leads naturally to the issue of cash

flow. The learner’s task is to prepare an accurate annual cash flow forecast for a selected business using monthly data. It provides continuity for learners if this is the same scenario as that used for breakeven analysis.

● The data should provide learners with examples of both regular and irregular cash inflows and outflows, ideally resulting in months that show a positive final balance and some months that do not. Other factors, such as seasonal fluctuations, can be introduced if appropriate to the scenario. There should be an appropriate range of issues for the learner to identify and analyse so that appropriate actions can be recommended (such as chasing up overdue payments, deferring a large purchase or reducing overheads).

● A visit from the owner of a local SME, prior to the assessment, to discuss their own perspective and experiences of cash flow issues could be used to trigger a debate on the importance of cash flow. Learners should be given time in advance to think about questions they could ask.

● Note that cash flow forecasting is an obvious application of spreadsheets. If learners wish, they could produce evidence for their assessment in this way.

Learning aim C: Investigate the use of budgets and budgetary control in business

Assignment 2: Business Budgeting Scenario: You will investigate the use of budgets and budgetary control in two contrasting businesses. You will describe the purposes of specific budgets and explain how budgetary control is used in the two businesses. You will also identify favourable and adverse variances in given budgets, and consider how variance can influence financial decisions made by businesses.

● The assessment involves learners describing the purpose of budgets for two contrasting businesses. One may be the business that has been used as a scenario for learning aims A and B. It is sensible to make the other business scenario completely different to give learners scope for comparison. For example, if one is a manufacturing business, the other could be a retailer. In addition, one business needs to be large enough to cover different types of budgets, such as sales, production, purchases, labour, overheads, cash, capital expenditure, and profit and loss, as detailed in the specification.

● In addition to calculating variances, learners must be able to interpret the budget and identify the implications of any variances for the business. The data provided should produce both large and small favourable and adverse variances. Learners should understand that unless there is an exceptional reason, a large favourable variance means that the budgeting process has not been rigorous enough. They should also be able to differentiate between variances that are insignificant and those that require explanation. They should understand that unexpected problems may occur and it is important to separate these into events that the business owner could not control and those that must be managed more appropriately.

● This analysis will lead learners to an evaluation of how variances impact on the financial decisions in one of the selected businesses. It is important to ensure that the completed budget(s) show that some important decisions are required by the business owner, to provide learners with meaningful material for evaluation purposes.



89

Details of links to other BTEC units, BTEC qualifications and links to other relevant units/qualifications This unit follows on from Unit 2: Finance for Business. In fact, they could almost be seen as an integrated whole. The specification stipulates that Unit 2 must be studied before Unit 13 is attempted.

BTEC First in Business: ● Unit 1: Enterprise in the Business World ● Unit 2: Finance for Business

● Unit 3: Promoting a Brand ● Unit 9: Principles of Marketing

● Unit 14: Business Online ● Unit 15: Public Sector Business Edexcel Level 3 BTEC Nationals in Business (QCF):

● Unit 5: Business Accounting

● Unit 6: Financial Accounting ● Unit 7: Management Accounting

● Unit 8: Accounting Systems

Resources Textbooks


Bentley, P., Carysforth, C., Chandler-Corris, L., Glencross, K. and Neild, M., BTEC First Level 2 Business, Pearson, 2012 (ISBN 978-1-446-90136-6) Covers the latest specification, including Unit 13: Financial Planning and Forecasting. Carysforth, C., Neild, M. and Richards, C., BTEC Level 2 First Business Student Book, Pearson, 2010 (ISBN 978-1-846-90620-6) Covers breakeven and cash flow thoroughly, and should complement classroom learning. Carysforth, C., Neild, M. and Richards, C., BTEC Level 2 First Business Teaching Resource Pack, Pearson, 2010 (ISBN 978-1-846-90621-3) Provides material for teachers to use in the classroom to help learners to consolidate learning.

Cox, D. and Fardon, M., Accounting, Osborne, 1998 (ISBN 978-1-872-96228-3) Provides a basic introduction to all three topics covered in this unit.

Websites www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize BBC Bitesize contains short versions of the main financial principles. www.bized.co.uk Bized contains examples and exercises covering the three topics in this unit.


90

UNIT 14: BUSINESS ONLINE


91

Unit 14: Business Online

Delivery guidance


Delivering this unit will allow you to guide your learners as they explore dynamic and ever-evolving ways to do business. Learners should be directed to research the different approaches to online business by local businesses in different sectors, contrasting the different approaches businesses use to interact with their customers, such as using their website to offer information or sell goods and services directly to customers.


For learning aim A, you should encourage learners to look at examples of websites for a range of different businesses. You should research suitable examples of online businesses of different sizes to ensure that you are able to guide learners to look at a full range of businesses; for example, micro finance companies could be compared to national banks. You should guide learners to explore aspects of online business other than processing transactions. Many charities and public services offer informational websites that could be explored.

Learners could be directed to produce a booklet or posters on the different types of online presence used by different businesses, profiling the websites of each business and identifying the way that each site utilises social media such as Facebook or Twitter.

For learning aim B, you could give learners a brief for a local business wishing to establish an online presence, simulating the process of planning and implementation. Learners could be divided into groups with each group planning for a different type of website. Group presentation and feedback sessions should allow your learners to compare their proposals as well as providing an opportunity to discuss the operational risks of their assigned business.

You could prepare case studies of different operational issues, simplifying longer newspaper or journal articles to fit the needs of the learners. Many issues such as hacker attacks and legal problems can be easily located on news websites.

For learning aim C, you could allocate websites for learners to investigate, either individually or in small groups. You could direct learners to collect screenshots of the websites, annotating them to explain how different features contribute to the user experience of each site.

For learning aim D, you should prepare a brief for learners to which they can respond. Once learners have produced an initial idea you may wish to facilitate a group critique session so that learners can peer assess one another’s ideas before producing their site independently. Once the final website has been built, you could invite guests from local businesses to whom learners could present their websites in order to gain feedback on how well their site meets business needs.

Careful research should be undertaken in preparation for this unit. Many useful sites may be blocked by school firewalls. Careful planning and consultation with ICT support colleagues should help to address this issue.



92

Getting started This provides you with a starting point for one way of delivering the unit, based around the suggested assignments in the specification.


Introduction Outline to your learners that this is a practical unit and that they will examine the use of websites in business before going on to create their own website in response to the needs of a specific business. Familiarise learners with the different requirements of each learning aim, highlighting the need to balance practical tasks such as building a website with theoretical understanding of operational issues. As a starting point, you could arrange a guest speaker such as a web designer or the manager of a businesses website so that learners can question an expert and see how professionals have to undertake a process of planning before going about the construction of a website.

Learning aim A: Explore business activity online

Learning aim B: Understand the issues relating to doing business online

Assignment 1: Why Go Online? Scenario: You are working for a consultancy firm that advises businesses on developing an online presence. Your manager has asked you to produce an information booklet for small and medium businesses on establishing an online presence. To provide some examples for your booklet, you will need to research three contrasting online businesses and investigate the nature and features of online business activities, and the purposes of doing business online. You will then need to think about the factors a selected business needs to consider when deciding to operate online – this must include planning, implementation, staffing, finance and distribution issues, and the operational risks involved.

● A good starting point might be guest speaker input from different local businesses with differing online presences. Local shops, for example, might be able to talk about the issues involved in running a shop, while a local charity or council officer could talk about the benefits of providing information online.

● Learners could then review carefully selected business websites, to enable coverage of the unit content. Guide them to compare similar sites by companies of different sizes. For example, a slick, professional site owned by a large business compared to a simpler site run by a smaller business, and a public sector site such as NHS Direct. At the same time, acquaint learners with the range of activities offered by different businesses online. Select examples for learners to investigate that exemplify different points from the specification. While learners might enjoy selecting sites themselves, you should be aware of the danger that their selections may not be contrasting enough to achieve the assessment criteria and may focus on too narrow a range of familiar sites.

● News media should provide a good range of case studies that could be used to acquaint learners with common operational risks of online trade but you might want to produce simplified versions of these stories in order to focus on the main points from the specification.



93


Learning aim C: Investigate the uses and features of websites

Learning aim D: Design a website to meet the needs of a business

Assignment 2: Building a Website Scenario: The consultancy business you are working for also provides a website design service for businesses. You will plan and build a website that meets an identified business need in a provided brief that you can interpret and use as the basis for your work in constructing a website. To prepare, you will need to research the features and uses of two existing contrasting business websites, and consider how the features improve the user experience. You will then plan the design of a website (with a maximum of eight interlinked pages) that meets the needs of the business in the given brief. After completing the plan, you will then create the website and demonstrate how the functionality, accessibility and usability meet the needs of the business. To achieve the Merit and Distinction criteria, you will need to use the feedback received on the functionality of your website to assess whether it meets the needs of the business, then recommend changes or improvements.

● The features and types of websites could be introduced with guest speaker input from a web designer, with learners following up this session by annotating screenshots of carefully selected contrasting business websites. The user experience aspects of a website could be explored by asking learners to produce reviews of websites. You should give a framework for these reviews, highlighting the main points that need to be covered based on the specification content.

● When building their website learners may need to be introduced to the use of web design software. A number of packages offer the facility to design a website without a detailed knowledge of HTML although it will be necessary to ensure that learners can make simple use of both scripting language (e.g. AJAX or PHP) and markup language (e.g. HTML or XML).

● While they are designing and building their websites, you could place learners into small groups or pairs to share their ideas and offer one another peer feedback on their sites. Learners should be encouraged to seek peer feedback on the functionality of their sites as they build each page. Care must be taken to ensure that, while learners can conduct research and generate ideas in a group, they must design and produce their website independently. It must be possible to authenticate each website as the work of one learner.

● As a more formal opportunity for formative feedback, you might want to invite local business owners to visit your group. These business owners could act as the client for a specific learner and offer them advice on the extent to which the website produced meets the needs of their business and allow learners to modify their designs to make them more appropriate to the needs of their ’client’.

● When learners have completed their site, they could investigate the availability of relevant domain names using the nominee website. Research into the different options available for web hosting should give learners a further opportunity to explore the different issues involved in running static and dynamic sites, particularly where their sites involve dynamic links to a database system such as SQL. Learners could compare the costs of different hosting packages, producing a recommendation on the best deal available.



94




● Unit 9: Principles of Marketing

BTEC Level 3 Certificate/ Subsidiary Diploma/ Diploma in Business (QCF):

● Unit 12: Internet Marketing in Business

● Unit 33: The Impact of Communications Technology on Business

● Unit 34: Website Design Strategy

Resources Textbooks


Bentley, P., Carysforth, C., Chandler-Corris, L., Glencross, K., and Nield, M., BTEC First Level 2 Business, Pearson, 2012 (ISBN 978-1-446-90136-6) A student book for level 2 that includes content to support learning on this unit.

McGrath, M., Javascript in Easy Steps, In Easy Steps LTD, 2009 (ISBN 978-1-840-78362-9)

McGrath, M., HTML5 in Easy Steps, In Easy Steps LTD, 2011 (ISBN 978-1-840-78425-1)

McManus, S., Web Design in Easy Steps, In Easy Steps LTD, 2011 (ISBN 978-1-840-78380-3)

Specialist books focusing on the creation of a website and different programming languages. These books provide step-by-step pictorial guides to different aspects of creating a website.

Websites



www.w3schools.com/default.asp A website which provides a simple ‘teach yourself’ guide to creating a website. This site contains detailed tutorials on the use of markup and scripting languages.

UNIT 15: PUBLIC SECTOR BUSINESS


95

Unit 15: Public Sector Business

Delivery guidance


Learners should understand that public sector businesses are an important part of the national economy; they create significant wealth and provide substantial employment. National and local government have significant responsibilities in providing services and goods to the community, and learners should understand why these goods and services are not provided by the private sector.

Some learners may have part-time employment (for instance, in leisure centres) where they can see what a public sector business does, how it is financed and how it operates. Ask learners to observe what public sector businesses do in the community, both national and local, and whether they are providing education and training, school transport or sporting facilities. Public sector businesses provide door-to-door newspapers and leaflets to keep people abreast of what is happening. Council tax bills are often accompanied by clear graphical and narrative explanations of how taxes are spent on the services provided by local government.

Research using the internet will show the range of public sector businesses, their responsibilities, how they operate and how significant they are in terms of their output and their contribution to employment.

There will be features in the local and national press on how spending by public sector businesses is being squeezed and how public sector businesses need to become more efficient and better at what they do. For example, the Highways Agency offers drivers electronic tags to pay at toll crossings so booths can be removed and fewer staff are employed to collect charges. The DVLA also allows road fund licences (tax discs) to be bought online.

You can use these experiences and sources to show the range of public sector businesses, what they do and how they can become more efficient and provide better value and services. You can link this unit with the learning in other units such as Unit 2: Finance for Business, Unit 4: Principles of Customer Service and work experience to emphasise the need for public sector businesses to be efficiently run and to meet the needs of their users and clients.


It is important that learners recognise the role and importance of public sector businesses in the economy. For learning aim A, you need to provide some formal input to explain what is meant by public sector businesses. Indicate that the category includes businesses such as the local council and the armed services, which do not have a strong commercial focus. Some concepts such as public goods and merit goods need explanation and exemplification.

You can ask learners to identify and discuss examples of public sector businesses that they have come across. Your own college, school or business may be a public sector business or receive some funding from public sector businesses. Other instances are easy for learners to relate to – for example, listening to or watching broadcasts made by the BBC, using the park, sports centre or gym, or ordering goods online from the Post Office to be delivered to their home address. Groups of learners could make presentations detailing and comparing examples of public sector businesses, the range of goods and services they provide, and how important the businesses are in economic terms. Ask learners to use the information they have found to discuss why there are public sector businesses. Some may argue that the



96

goods and services should not be provided by the public sector, as this would reduce the amount people pay in taxes. Considering opposing views will provide the basis for discussion.

For learning aim B, learners need to know how public sector businesses operate. Learners can do this by collecting information such as financial information and organisation charts that detail how public sector businesses are funded and structured. Your own college, school or business is likely to make this information available. Researching the annual reports of councils will provide examples of what they do and how they are financed. Collect news stories that feature public sector businesses and highlight issues such as how much is spent on the services provided, how they are funded and the need to promote efficiency. For example, postal rates go up so collections and deliveries are reduced in number. Hospitals reduce the levels of patient care because NHS Trusts cannot afford the interest payments on their private finance initiative (PFI) loans.

Guest speakers from local public sector businesses can describe what their businesses do, and how they are financed, organised, regulated and held to account. Ask learners to make a slide presentation or prepare a display showing how a selected public sector business operates in terms of its organisation and its funding, and how it is controlled. Additionally, learners can select contrasting public sector businesses and make poster displays comparing how the different businesses operate.

Learning aim C requires learners to explore the factors affecting the operation and improvement of public sector businesses. Learners can do independent, practical work using their enquiry skills and make recommendations for improvements based on what they find out.

You may have to develop learners’ enquiry skills before asking them to collect information about public sector businesses. Alternatively, you could ask the learning centre to build a bank of materials about selected public sector businesses that learners can use for research. Your own college, school or business will provide examples of the factors affecting their operation. The Academy Programme has given schools the opportunity to set pay and conditions for staff, and to change the lengths of terms and school days. Ask learners to prepare arguments for and against a school becoming an academy and to discuss the arguments. An academy teacher could provide input to the discussion.

Learners should identify areas where improvements could be made in public sector businesses and recommend improvements to business practices. For example, how could hospitals reduce waiting times for operations? How might the examination performance of a school or college be improved? How might the cost of providing public libraries be reduced? You can give groups of learners a topic and ask them to generate ideas, discuss them and present their preferred solutions. The different groups can feed back their ideas to each other.



97

Getting started



Introduction Ask learners to identify and discuss examples of public sector business that they know about, what these businesses provide and why public sector businesses rather than those in the private sector provide those services and goods. Learners can then discuss the reasons for these decisions and why some services and goods have to be provided by public sector businesses.

Learning aim A: Explore public sector businesses

Learning aim B: Investigate how public sector businesses operate

Assignment 1: What are Public Sector Businesses? Scenario: You are working as an intern at your local council and have been asked to produce some promotional materials for the general public that provide information on what public sector businesses do. To do this, you need to investigate the nature and importance of public sector businesses and how they operate. You can do this by focusing on the goods and services provided, and the reasons why public sector businesses provide these. You need to consider why the government maintains public sector businesses, providing appropriate examples. You will also examine how contrasting public sector businesses are funded, and investigate their organisational structures and how they are regulated.

Part 1: Investigating the nature of the public sector ● Learners can discuss what is meant by public sector businesses and the different

types that exist. They should be able to list public sector businesses that they and their families use and have come into contact with. Ask learners to obtain copies of the newsletters produced by local councils or to look at their websites to build a picture of what a public sector business does. Learners can produce lists or tables identifying public sector businesses and where they are found locally. These can be annotated with details of what goods and/or services the public sector businesses provide.

● Ask learners to identify why public sector businesses provide the goods and/or services identified. They can use the experience of their college, school or perhaps business. Learners should know that these services are free at the point of delivery. Ask them to discuss whether private sector businesses should provide these goods and services, and whether there would be any related issues that need to be considered – for example, would parents take their small children to the park if they had to pay an entrance fee to use the swings? Learners can make a presentation on the pros and cons of having private sector businesses provide goods and services.

● Ask learners to investigate public sector businesses to see how important they are economically. Graphs and diagrams can be used and displayed to show the relative importance of public sector business organisations in the national economy. Trends can be shown over time diagrammatically.

● A presentation from a guest speaker will identify the importance of public sector businesses, such as a hospital or the fire service, in terms of both what it does and what it contributes to the economy. Representatives from opposing political parties can be asked to present their contrasting views on public sector businesses.



98


Part 2: How public sector businesses are organised and operated ● Start by getting learners to research how public sector businesses are funded and

what they spend their money on. Examples such as direct government payments, charging users, borrowing from banks and being involved in commercial activities demonstrate the range of different sources of finance. The work from learning aim A will suggest how the money is spent. Learners can tabulate, graph and annotate the information about sources of income and types of expenditure for contrasting businesses, and put it on display.

● Ask groups of learners to research and compare the structure of different public sector businesses. This information is readily available from many of these businesses. They can make presentations to the group about the public sector businesses they have researched. A presentation from a guest speaker such as a manager, a trade union official or an elected representative will discuss how public sector businesses are organised and operated. Take learners to open days or arrange visits; many public sector businesses will show visitors around facilities such as courts, cemeteries, police driving schools and fire stations, during which their working will be explained.

● Learners can research how and why public sector businesses are regulated. Groups can then produce displays to identify, for selected public sector businesses, who the regulator is and what powers they have. In the case of your school or college, a member of staff could talk about the role of Ofsted and the impact of the regulator on the work of the school or college. Learners can read the Ofsted reports to see how the regulator can affect the work of the institution.

Learning aim C: Explore factors affecting the operation and improvement of public sector businesses

Assignment 2: Factors Affecting Public Sector Businesses Scenario: In your work as an intern at your local council, you have been asked to provide an article for a local newspaper or magazine on factors affecting public sector businesses. To do this, you will need to explore the factors that affect public sector businesses and identify how the provision of public sector services can be improved. To achieve the Merit and Distinction criteria, your article will need to consider the contribution of government policy on services and operations in public sector businesses.

● Ask the learners to prepare for a discussion on the issues that affect the operation of public sector businesses. They can collect articles from national and local newspapers, or note things they have seen on television or been affected by. Alternatively you can create a bank of relevant materials in a learning centre for learners to use. Government plans to cut spending affect almost all public sector businesses. Universities and colleges have put up the cost of education and at one time the BBC considered closing one of its popular music stations. Use the information collected to ask groups to make a presentation and to discuss the issues.

● Using the previously collected information, ask groups of learners to select a public sector business and identify the problems it faces. For example, public sector businesses are slow to make use of social media and web-based technologies to develop and improve their services. They should then make a presentation containing ideas to solve these problems.



99


● Unit 2: Finance for Business


● Unit 16: Enhancing the Customer Experience

Resources Textbooks


Sawyer, M. (ed.), The UK Economy: A Manual of Applied Economics, 16th Edition, Oxford University Press, 2004 (ISBN 978-0-199-26651-7) An economics textbook with a section on the public sector. It has an associated online resource centre. A useful source of materials, particularly for teachers.

Whitaker's Almanack 2013, A & C Black Publishers Ltd, 2012 (ISBN 978-1-408-17207-0) An overview of every aspect of the UK infrastructure.

Journal

The Economist A weekly economics and business journal that has regular articles and features about issues related to public sector businesses and the economy. It has an extensive archive of relevant materials.

Websites

www.bized.co.uk Business education resources with materials on public sector businesses.

www.gov.uk The government portal with information about government organisations and services.

www.manchester.gov.uk An example of a local authority website which details the services it provides. Most local authorities provide similar services.

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/index.html The Office for National Statistics.

www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/FEAndVocational/BusinessandAdministration/BTEC/BTEC-Firsts-Business-2012/BTEC-Firsts-Business-2012.aspx Materials tailored to Level 2 Business with a ‘try before you buy’ feature.

www.tutor2U.com Resources and revision materials on the public sector. There are links to other sources of information on the public sector.


100

UNIT 16: ENHANCING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE


101

Unit 16: Enhancing the Customer Experience

Delivery guidance


This unit provides opportunities for learners to investigate how businesses can enhance the customer experience through monitoring, evaluating and improving the customer service they provide. Unit 4: Principles of Customer Service is a compulsory prerequisite of this unit and should be completed first. This unit cannot be taken as a stand-alone unit in this qualification and must be taken with Unit 4.

You could develop links with local retail businesses for visits and guest speakers. Some learners may have part-time employment working in retail outlets, supermarkets or restaurants, and these experiences can be shared from both perspectives as a customer and deliverer of customer service.


It is important that learners recognise the value of a satisfied customer and the damage a dissatisfied customer can do. You could lead discussion groups to explore learners’ experiences of good and poor customer service, and the effects of these on the customer, the business and the employee. The cost of poor customer service to business is very high and there are many hidden costs involved. Guest speakers are useful for discussing what happens if customers are lost through poor customer service, and what is involved in finding new customers in terms of building relationships and financial costs, particularly as studies show it costs about five times more to serve a new customer than an existing customer.

For learning aim A, you could arrange for visiting speakers to deliver presentations that give real examples of ways of enhancing the reputation of business and brand, and the value of this to the business. Learners could work in small groups to research the Unique Selling Point (USP) of different businesses and present their findings to the rest of the class for discussion. Examples of repairing any damage to reputation would probably be unrealistic to expect a business to discuss, so you could use case studies to illustrate this.

For learning aim B, monitoring customer satisfaction levels enables any actions to be implemented if the customer service needs improving. Visits to businesses, a guest speaker or research using the internet can all be used to help learners identify methods that businesses use to monitor and evaluate their customer service, with learners researching reasons why that method is used.

Ask learners to devise a questionnaire for monitoring and evaluating customer service in different business types. Learners should select one business to research, giving reasons why and how it monitors and evaluates its customer service provision, and examples of at least two monitoring and two evaluation methods used.

You could provide input on the importance of gathering information about customers in order to enhance customer service. Learner research on the customer-profiling methods used by different businesses could be used and then developed into the creation of a poster illustrating this. For example, you could provide scenarios, such as setting up a new shop, launching a website or a new product, and learners could identify the most effective methods to help build a customer profile and the types of information that are the most useful to include in the profile.

For learning aim C, you could provide input on different methods that could be used for identifying improvements to customer service. A guest speaker could deliver a



102

presentation on how the monitoring and evaluation of customer service has led to specific types of improvements, how they recognise those improvements and the resultant benefits to the customer, the employee and the business. To illustrate how information is gathered, you could split learners into groups to devise a customer service questionnaire. Each group could be allocated a different type of business – for example, a pizza home delivery service, a shoe retailer on the high street, an online gourmet food business, a travel agency. Learners could then discuss the different types of questions.

In this unit you will need to provide teaching input on the techniques of monitoring and evaluating customer service, followed by discussions that can link to businesses that the learners have visited or otherwise experienced, such as through a guest speaker.



103

Getting started


Unit 16: Enhancing the Customer Experience

Introduction You could ask learners to write down one example of when they have received good customer service, one example of when they received poor customer service, and how they felt each time. Learners could then briefly discuss in pairs the likely effects of both examples on the customer and the business.

Learning aim A: Investigate the importance of providing good customer service

Assignment 1: Customer Service – Good or Bad? Scenario: You are to take on the role of assisting the customer service manager of a business and are tasked with preparing training material for new staff. The training materials you produce should specifically refer to examples of the value and importance to businesses of enhancing the customer experience, both good and poor customer service in contrasting businesses, and the consequences of poor customer service.

● Learners should have the opportunity to discuss their own experiences of receiving both good and poor customer service, and how this made them feel. This will help them think about the value to businesses of enhancing the customer experience. The presentation should examine the value and importance of enhancing the customer experience for selected businesses.

● Learners could visit contrasting businesses such as business-to-business (B2B) versus business-to-consumer (B2C) to enable them to assess the customer service provision for the merit criterion. The findings could be presented in a table format as a handout for the presentation, comparing the effects of enhancing the customer experience and the consequences of poor customer service for two contrasting businesses. This research could be developed for distinction criterion evaluating the importance of enhancing the customer experience.

Learning aim B: Examine how customer service can be monitored and evaluated

Learning aim C: Explore how improvements to customer service can be made

Assignment 2: Why Bother? – The Importance of Monitoring and Evaluating the Customer Experience Scenario: You will continue in the role of assisting the customer service manager of a business and prepare more materials on further investigations into enhancing the customer experience. This will cover how the provision is monitored and evaluated to identify enhancements, and how this impacts on the customer, the business and the employee. The materials you produce need to refer to specific business examples to meet the assessment criteria.

● Learners need to demonstrate an understanding of how customer service is monitored and evaluated in businesses, including the use of customer profiling methods. The same businesses researched in Assignment 1 can be used again.

● Learners could research the methods used by businesses for collecting customer information in order to create profiles, including how the use of customer profiles enhances customer service. Learners should include an account of the purpose of



104

profiling in a guidance booklet for use with new or existing staff, as well as describing useful sources of data used to monitor and evaluate customer service provision. Learners should research at least two monitoring and two evaluation methods used by the selected business. Learners might progress to compare how two contrasting businesses use formal and informal data to monitor and evaluate their customer service provision, such as buying habits for Merit. This can be developed into evidence for Distinction through an evaluation of the usefulness of data in monitoring and evaluating the customer service provision in a selected business.

● Learners can use the same businesses, or choose different ones, to research how enhancements to the customer experience are identified, the benefits of these enhancements to the business and the impact on internal procedures. Learners should select one business, giving examples to explain the ways in which it has made enhancements to the customer experience – for example, improving the response time for dealing with customer queries. They should also describe how the businesses recognise these enhancements and explain the implications of these enhancements to the customer, the business and the employee, using at least one example for each. To achieve higher grading criteria, learners need to provide an assessment of whether changes made by a selected business to enhance the customer experience have improved customer service provision. This can be developed into an evaluation of the impact of enhancements to the customer experience for the customer, business and employee in terms of cost, time and resources for Distinction.


Unit 4: Principles of Customer Service is a compulsory prerequisite of this unit and should be completed first. This unit cannot be taken as a stand-alone unit in this qualification and must be taken with Unit 4.





● Unit 10: Using Business Documentation

● Unit 12: Introducing Law and Consumer Rights

● Unit 14: Business Online

● Unit 15: Public Sector Business


Resources Textbooks




105


Leland, K. and Bailey, K., Customer Service for Dummies (3rd edition), John Wiley & Sons, 2006 (ISBN 978-0-471-76869-2) Covers the basic principles of customer service.

Journal

Customer Focus magazine Quarterly journal of the Institute of Customer Service that looks at customer service strategy.

Website

www.instituteofcustomerservice.com The website of the Institute of Customer Service whose purpose is to lead customer service performance and professionalism.


106

UNIT 17: VISUAL MERCHANDISING IN RETAIL BUSINESS


107

Unit 17: Visual Merchandising in Retail Business

Delivery guidance

Approaching the unit This unit is well suited to a practical approach. Building contacts with local retailers could provide you with the opportunity to arrange visits to retail businesses where learners might be able to plan and build product displays, for example, window displays or promotional displays.

Much of the content of this unit would benefit from being delivered through visits to different sized retail businesses. When planning such visits you should ensure that you provide an opportunity for learners to visit businesses from a suitable range of sub-sectors.

Delivering the learning aims For learning aim A, learners should be given an overview of the retail business sector with attention paid to the differences between different sized businesses operating in different sub-sectors. For example, considering the differences in layouts and displays between a discount retail business and a fashionable boutique. The former may rely on branded point of sale (POS) material and heavily packed, tightly clustered displays in a gridiron pattern. The latter may have a more minimalist approach with creative displays built around novel props.

Guest speaker input would greatly benefit the delivery of this learning aim. Department stores are likely to employ staff specifically as visual merchandisers and you may be able to arrange for one of their team to visit your centre.

For learning aim B, learners need to focus on the tools and techniques used by visual merchandisers. Many specialist software packages are available online for the construction of planograms. Alternatively, basic CAD software has functions that allow the construction of plans. Learners should be made familiar with the tools used by a visual merchandiser. This might include the use of props to enhance a display or psychological techniques, such as putting a display of flowers at a store entrance to create the impression of freshness. You could collect a range of different tools that learners could photograph and annotate with descriptions of their purpose and use.

For learning aim C, you should focus on how to apply visual merchandising techniques. You could split learners into groups, with each group focusing on a different sub-sector. Produce a design brief for learners to follow, specifying elements of corporate image that should be adhered to. You might be able to obtain some old shop fittings from local stores. Many businesses dispose of window dressing and POS material once a season or a special offer finishes. Obtaining such materials through your contacts would allow your learners to build simulated retail displays in their learning environment.

You could also encourage your learners to carry out some primary and secondary research into the factors that might influence their product displays. Interviews with members of the community might help learners to understand the importance of celebrity influence or branding, while a survey of the local high street by your group might highlight the significance of seasonal trading opportunities.

You should ensure that any practical activities are appropriately assessed for risk. If learners are required to work with or use tools in a retail environment, appropriate measures should be taken to ensure their safety, such as the provision of suitable personal protective equipment.



108

Getting started



Introduction Explain to your learners that this unit takes a practical approach, and outline visits they might make to a range of retail businesses in the local high street so they can see the different tools and techniques that visual merchandisers employ and how they differ across different sub-sectors. For example, you might direct them to visit a small food retailer and a large automotive products retailer. The differences observed would be a useful starting point for group discussion and lead well into the content of this unit.

Learning aim A: Understand the responsibilities of visual merchandisers in retail businesses

Learning aim B: Understand the principles of visual merchandising

Assignment 1: Attracting Customers Scenario: You will investigate two contrasting retail businesses and look at the activities and responsibilities of visual merchandisers, and the techniques and tools they use to create layouts and displays that entice customers to buy products. You will consider (and, for Distinction, evaluate) how these activities and responsibilities vary across different sub-sectors and sizes of retail business. You will then go on to research the techniques and tools used by visual merchandisers in two different retail sub-sectors.

● This unit is particularly well suited to employer engagement. You might wish to begin to explore the role of visual merchandisers by arranging visits to two or more contrasting retailers in your local area. Preparing observation checklists and writing frames based around the content for this unit might be a good starting point in order to ensure that relevant specification content is covered during your visit.

● In order to examine the impact of size and sub-sector on merchandising activity, you could direct learners to visit local shopping areas in groups to conduct a survey. Ensure this activity is suitably structured with learners directed to certain stores to ensure appropriate coverage of each sub-sector. You could allocate small groups of learners a small number of sub-sectors to investigate, following which they could present the findings from their survey to the whole group. This would provide a useful opportunity for peer assessment and formative feedback, and would also help as a source of ideas for the later design tasks.

● In order to examine the tools used by visual merchandisers, it might be useful to collect a kit of the tools laid out in the specification for learners to examine. They could photograph these tools and write comments for each photo on how they are used.

● In order to consider the range of visual merchandising techniques and the types of retail environment that could be created, you should select a range of cases for learners to examine to help them decide on what features make the environment a positive one for the customer (to prepare them for the assignment in learning aim C). You could collect and make copies from a number of magazines and books that contain striking images of different stores and their layouts for learners to annotate or use as the basis for display boards. Alternatively you might use videos of television programmes such as Mary Queen of Shops to examine living case studies of the impact of the transformation of retail environments.



109


Learning aim C: Apply visual merchandising techniques

Assignment 2: Creating a Positive Retail Environment Scenario: From a given design brief, you will create a detailed planogram for a positive retail environment, and design a realistic and appropriate product display for use within that environment. After receiving feedback on the effectiveness of your design, you will review your work and suggest improvements.

● This is a practical learning aim and you should encourage learners to use their creativity in their planning activities. It would be useful to source examples of plans for retail environments and/or product displays from local retail businesses as exemplars, although if this is not possible then it might be useful to produce example planograms to help learners understand this concept.

● When preparing a brief for learners, it might be useful to allocate different brands and product categories to each group of learners. It is important to ensure that the design brief given to learners allows them sufficient scope to access all of the assessment criteria and content. Avoid a narrow focus on too few types of products and ensure that it is clear that displays or layouts must reflect the brand of the retailer and the products on display.

● Before learners start their designs, you could encourage them to research the factors that might influence their display. They could then present this research, explaining how this will influence their design. Learners could use the notes from their presentation and formative feedback to annotate their plans to highlight their use of different merchandising techniques.

● When the first draft of their design is complete, you could invite an audience of potential customers to whom your learners could present their designs and receive feedback that they should use to improve their designs. This activity would be particularly beneficial if the audience were given a feedback form based around the specification content to ensure the relevance of the learners’ ideas to their assignment.



110





● Unit 9: Principles of Marketing

BTEC Level 3 Certificate/Subsidiary Diploma/Diploma in Business (QCF):

● Unit 29: Understanding Retailing

● Unit 30: Visual Merchandising in Retail

● Unit 31: Fashion Retailing

● Unit 32: Food Retailing

Resources Textbooks


Bell, J. and Ternus, K., Silent Selling, Fairchild Publications, 2006 (ISBN 978-1-563-67396-2)


Colborne, R., Visual Merchandising, Delmar Learning, 1996 (ISBN 978-0-827-35759-4)

Diamond, E. and J., Diamond Contemporary Visual Merchandising and Environmental Design (5th edition), Prentice Hall, 2006 (ISBN 978-0-135-00761-7)

Diamond, J., Contemporary Visual Merchandising, Prentice Hall, 2010 (ISBN 978-0-135-00761-7)

Hasty, R. and Reardon, J., Retail Management, McGraw Hill, 1996 (ISBN 978-0-071-14315-8)

Morgan, T., Visual Merchandising: Window and In Store Display for Retail, Laurence King, 2011 (ISBN 978-1-856-69763-7) A specialist text with numerous examples of the best visual merchandising from around the world, with some inspiring photographs to illustrate each point.

Tucker, J., Retail Desire – Design and the Art of the Visual Merchandiser, Rotovision, 2004 (ISBN 978-2-880-46806-4)

Underhill, P., Why We Buy, Simon & Schuster, 2008 (ISBN 978-1-416-59524-3)



111

Journals

Convenience Store (William Reed Business Media)

Drapers (Emap Ltd)

Retail Week (Emap Ltd)

The Grocer (William Reed Business Media)

Websites

www.fashionwindows.com An internet database on fashion, mannequins and visual merchandising

www.rootstein.com Rootstein display mannequins

www.skillsmartretail.com The Sector Skills Council for Retail

www.sony.co.uk/biz/section/retail-whitepapers Sony Retail Solutions

http://vmsd.com Visual merchandising and store design

Most retail businesses have their own websites.



http://tutor2u.net/retail/cafe.php This website contains resources on BTEC Retail. The notes on merchandising and display are particularly useful for this unit.


112

ANNEXE


113

Annexe

Definitions of terms used in assessment criteria grids Most assessment criteria start with a command word − ‘describe’, ‘explain’, ‘evaluate’ etc. These words relate to how complex a learners’ answer should be.

Learners will need to provide evidence that meets the command-word requirements of a criterion. Some terms in the assessment criteria grids have particular meanings in the business sector. For clarification, definitions are given below for each of the terms used.

You can use this glossary with your learners to:

● help them understand what the language used in the criteria means

● what they will need to do to attain a specific grade

● to give further clarification on how their work has been assessed.

You may also find it useful as a means of providing further guidance when you are assessing learner work against the assessment criteria.

Command word Definition

Analyse Identify the factors that apply and state how these are related. Explain the importance of each one.

Answer Provide responses to customer queries. Meet customers’ needs by providing responses to routine questions/enquiries.

Apply Put skills/knowledge/understanding into action in a particular context.

Assess Give careful consideration to all the factors or events that apply, and identify which are the most important or relevant.

Compare Identify the main factors relating to two or more items/situations, and explain the similarities and differences, and in some cases say which is best and why.

Define Clearly explain what a particular term means and give an example, if appropriate, to show what is meant.

Demonstrate Provide several relevant examples or related evidence that clearly support the arguments being made. This may include showing practical skills.

Describe Give a clear description that includes all the relevant features – think of it as ‘painting a picture with words’.

Discuss Consider different aspects of a topic and how they interrelate, and the extent to which they are important.

Draw up Assemble a business document or financial statement.

Evaluate Bring together all information and review it to form a conclusion. Give evidence for each of view or statement.

Explain Provide details and give reasons and/or evidence to support the arguments being made. Start by introducing the topic then give the ‘how’ or ‘why’.

ANNEXE


114

Command word Definition

Identify Point out or select the correct option or give a list of the main features.

Justify Give reasons or evidence to support opinion, to show how conclusions have been arrived at.

Organise Arrange or manage an activity/documentation.

Outline Write a clear description, but not a detailed one.

Prepare Take the required actions and carry out research to put together a fit-for-purpose document, such as a business plan. Take the required actions and carry out research to get ready to undertake a specific activity.

Present Show in an organised manner.

Produce Create a specific business document or plan.

Provide Supply somebody with something, e.g. an interviewer with answers to questions (transitive). Supply the required help to ensure the smooth running of an activity, e.g. administrative support for a meeting (intransitive).

Research Investigate a topic/subject in order to find out information/answers.

Review Examine a topic or an item to make sure that it is correct or to provide a report on the quality of a document/report/item.

Select Choose the best or most suitable option.

Store and manage Collect, keep (save) and deal with data, interrogating the data as required.

Store and save Collect and keep data for future use.

Use Put something into action, or use it to achieve a specific goal/target.

Publications Code BF031237 November 2012 For more information on Edexcel and BTEC qualifications please visit our website: www.edexcel.com BTEC is a registered trademark of Pearson Education Limited Pearson Education Limited. Registered in England and Wales No. 872828 Registered Office: Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex CM20 2JE. VAT Reg No GB 278 537121